RRH Brings Mobile Pet/Ct Scans to Ridgecrest

Monday, December 9, 2019, RIDGECREST, Calif. – Ridgecrest Regional Hospital (RRH) has announced that it has recently partnered with Alliance Healthcare to offer Positron Emission Tomography – Computed Tomography PET/CT service.

Positron emission tomography (PET) uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers or radiopharmaceuticals, a special camera and a computer to evaluate organ and tissue functions. By identifying changes at the cellular level, PET may detect the early onset of disease before other imaging tests can. The mobile PET/CT unit saw its first patients for scans in Ridgecrest on Friday, November 8 and will continue to be available on a bi-weekly basis.

“With the growth of our oncology department and our continued commitment to our patients, we are extremely excited to offer the convenience of PET (Positron Emissions Tomography) right here at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital, said Charles Pietrangelo, Director of Business Development at RRH. “Using our newly formed partnership with Alliance, a leader in mobile imaging, and the support of our radiology group Renaissance Imaging Medical Associates, patients no longer need to travel hours to have a PET scan. And be confident that the exam they are receiving is of the highest quality.”

Clinical Manager of the RRH Outpatient Pavilion and Cancer Center, Shantell Utley, MSN, RN, CNML added, “The ability to offer PET scans in our community is such a wonderful addition to our services, particularly for our oncology patients. It offers state of the art technology right at our fingertips. This will decrease patients travel time, costs and most importantly keep them at home where they are most comfortable.”

With the advanced technology of the Siemens Biograph mCT Flow PET/CT scanner, patients and providers can expect:

• Lower radiation exposure
• Observe every organ in the finest detail
• Reduced scan times
• Increased patient comfort with a larger, open 78 cm bore
• Exceptional image quality for more advanced lesion detection

The RRH Radiology group, Renaissance Imaging, will continue to interpret these PET/CT scans as they do other imaging for the facility. To schedule a patient, please call the radiology department at Ridgecrest Regional Hospital at (760) 499-3702.

Notes to Editors:

About Ridgecrest Regional Hospital

Ridgecrest Regional Hospital is a nonprofit, full service, acute care hospital, accredited by DNV Healthcare, with 980 employees. It is a 196 bed facility, including 25 inpatient and 125 Skilled Nursing Facility beds. Located in Ridgecrest, California, it was founded in 1945 by Dr. Thomas A. Drummond, who realized the need for medical care, to support the then recently established Naval Ordnance Test Station. Today, RRH continues as the only regional healthcare system providing a variety of services to the rural communities of the Southern Sierra. Our Vision is to be a leader with other healthcare providers in offering the highest quality, patient-centered, affordable healthcare and wellness services to the people of our service area.

The RRH health system offers multi-specialty healthcare and state-of-the-art facilities, including Gastroenterology Lab, Cardiology, Dermatology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics and an accredited Sleep Lab, to name a few. The hospital also offers a Cancer Center, as part of an ongoing oncology affiliation with UC Davis Health Cancer Care Network, and is one of only a number of hospitals across the country to install FDA-approved state-of-the-art automated breast screening ultrasound technology in the Women’s Imaging Department, clinically proven to increase cancer detection by 35.7 percent. The hospital has been awarded the ACR gold seal of accreditation in Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, representing the highest level of image quality and patient safety and the Emergency Department has been designated by Kern County Public Health, as a Level IV trauma center, providing stabilization and advanced trauma life support.

Future plans include a new Emergency Room, new helipad for air ambulance services and the relocation of the Southern Sierra Medical Clinic has recently been completed. For more information, visit us at: rrh.org/ and Facebook.com/RidgecrestRegionalHospital.