“Point of Care” Ultrasound Provides Rapid, Life‐Saving Care for Patients
Hudson, New York –Thanks to a generous grant of $40,000 from the Hudson River Bank & Trust Foundation, Columbia Memorial Hospital’s emergency department physicians can now make rapid life‐ and limb‐saving diagnoses right at the bedside with “point of care” ultrasound technology.
The introduction of “point of care” ultrasound technology onto the frontline of emergency medicine has had a tremendous positive impact on patient care. This new technology enables medical professionals to perform precision‐based procedures and treatments at the bedside, improving success and decreasing complications in central line placement, chest tube placement, regional anesthesia (nerve blocks), lumbar punctures, I.V. placement, biopsies, the localization and removal of foreign bodies, and more. Diagnosis of collapsed lung, an irregular heartbeat, fluid around the heart and abscesses can be confirmed at the bedside. Trauma teams can quickly decide on next steps – immediate surgery or transfer to a trauma center.
“Point of care” ultrasound improves the speed and accuracy of diagnoses when minutes count. Quite simply, the funds provided by the Hudson River Bank & Trust Foundation will save lives.