Inside the walls of a hospital, crisis and healing exist side by side. In one room, a nurse is placing a mother’s newborn in her arms for the first time, and in another part of the hospital, a patient is having their heart scanned to check for potentially serious conditions.
For rural hospitals, this may be what sets healthcare apart the most: the techs, nurses, doctors and staff that sit with you through dark times and celebrate with you when relief is found. Here, they call these healthcare heroes the heart of Hillsdale Hospital.
This title may resonate the most for patients who have found themselves in the echocardiogram room, where cardiac sonographer Aimee Fink conducts ultrasounds of the heart. Providers order echocardiograms for their patient when they’re experiencing symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath and abnormal heart sounds. This test identifies heart disease, heart failure and other related concerns. If a patient has suffered a heart attack or is undergoing chemotherapy, an echocardiogram will evaluate how the heart is functioning and if it has weakened.
“What we are actually seeing [is] the ultrasound images of the moving chambers and valves of the heart,” Fink said, “We watch the blood flow through the valves and how each valve opens and closes to help determine valvular function.”
Fink describes all this and more to the patient before beginning the exam. She goes over a patient’s medical history with them, makes sure all their questions are answered completely.
“It can be overwhelming,” Fink said. “Usually for the patients, it is just nervousness for the unknown, especially since the exam is for their heart. Taking the patients through the steps of the exam seems to help.”
During the exam, Fink places electrode stickers on the patient’s chest and uses a device called a transducer to send sound waves through the chest and into the heart, creating images on the echocardiogram machine.
“Some are very surprised at how easy and painless the test can be,” she said.
After the exam, the images are sent to the patient’s cardiologist, who reads them and provides results typically within the same week. This quick turnaround helps reduce stress as much as possible for a patient worried about the findings. No matter what the results are, the team at Hillsdale Hospital helps guide each patient through the next steps required for their care.
“[We strive] to treat the patient like they’re our own family, to make sure they feel heard and to ensure we explain what to expect,” said Jamie Caldwell, medical imaging manager.
Hillsdale Hospital has been offering echocardiography for 25 years now, which is evidence of the team’s commitment to staying at the forefront of medical technology.
“The entire radiology staff at Hillsdale strives to provide the best possible care,” Fink said. “Advancements in medicine are always happening, and the radiology department works to offer the community the most up-to-date, reliable equipment and information, including with echocardiograms.”
This is the heart of Hillsdale Hospital—the individuals who see patients as far more than a job to be done. They ensure high quality care and never leave a patient in the dark. Because at Hillsdale Hospital, when the future is unknown, you are not alone.
To learn more about heart imaging at Hillsdale Hospital, visit our radiology service page.
