Certified Nuclear Medicine Technologist Margaret Balobeck wants you to know that nuclear medicine has nothing whatsoever to do with nuclear weapons.
Balobeck, who joined the staff of Northern Cochise Community Hospital in mid July, started the nuclear medicine department that goes live Oct. 16.
Nuclear medicine is a sub-specialty within the field of radiology, she said.
“Nuclear medicine uses very small amounts of radioactive substances (tracers) given to the patient, usually by an injection into a vein,” Balobeck explained.
“Once these tracers are inside the body, they produce emissions (light rays, called gamma rays).
“A special type of camera, called a scintillation or gamma camera, is used to transform those emissions into images,” said Balobeck, adding that this camera does not produce any additional radiation.
These images “not only provide information about the anatomy of the body part being tested, but also provide information about how well that body part is working,” she said.
Balobeck wants patients to understand that nuclear medicine is extremely safe because very small amounts of radiation are used.
“Generally, the level of radiation to the patient is similar to that used in standard X-rays,” she explained.
“Nuclear medicine has been used in diagnostic imaging for more than 50 years and has been proven to be safe and effective.”
Balobeck reminds us radiation is everywhere.
“The light and warmth we get from the sun are natural forms of radiation,” she said.
“Radiation comes from outer space, the earth, and from building materials (concrete, bricks and mortar). We cook with microwave radiation and communicate by radio waves.”
Some types of testing to be done at NCCH include:
•Bone scans to evaluate lesions and infections on the bone.
“Nuclear medicine can verify if the infection is actually on the bone or in the tissue around the bone,” Balobeck explained.
•Heart scans and cardiac stress tests to identify abnormal blood flow to the heart muscle.
“It can measure how well the heart functions and shows the extent of heart damage after a heart attack,” she said.
•Thyroid scans, which can measure how well the thyroid is functioning and can actually identify if a lump on the thyroid is cancer or benign.
•Lung scans, which can evaluate the blood and airflow to the lungs and can identify the presence of blood clots.
“We’ll do tests that evaluate the function of the liver and gall bladder, kidneys, and more,” Balobeck said.
She comes to NCCH with almost 15 years in the theory and practice of nuclear medicine procedures and general and cardiac diagnostic procedures.
Balobeck worked seven years with a national agency as a travel tech, taking assignments all over the United States, said Lineva Donahue, the hospital’s Community Relations Director.
Some of the larger hospitals Balobeck has worked with are JFK Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Conn.; and Sutter-Could Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Calif., she said.
“She brings with her the dedication and enthusiasm needed to help NCCH start its first Nuclear Medicine Department,” Donahue told the Range News.
Babolek said she will work in close consultation with a nuclear medicine physician, and that physicians who are specialists in nuclear medicine radiology will review the images.
Hospital CEO Harley Smith believes his administrative team is beginning to gel.
“The team we have now is very excited to move forward,” he said.
“We want to expand the nursing home to take more residents to serve the community better,” said Smith.
“We want to build the new hospital, but we have to have a positive bottom line to pay for it.”
Chief Financial Officer John Munson said the hospital has had that positive bottom line for “the first two months of the fiscal year.”
Munson has been working at NCCH for 10 months, coming in as controller in December.
He took the reins as CFO in March, replacing interim CFO Doug Fritsche.
Munson applied for the job because he wanted “to take on more of a role” at the hospital, he said.
“It was a no-brainer to take the CFO position.”
He signed a three-year contract with the hospital in June.
“I’m committed to being here.”
Asked what he likes best about working at NCCH, Munson said, “Everyone here pulls up their sleeves and works. No one just manages. Everyone is part of the machine.”
Munson previously worked at UPH in Tucson as a financial analyst, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from University of Phoenix, and an MBA in finance from Grand Canyon University.
He worked for UPH about a year and a half, working at Masterpieces Puzzle Company in Tucson for four years prior to that.
Munson is working on his CPA license, having now passed three of the four required tests. He is scheduled to take this fourth one this month.
Originally from Washington State, Munson has lived in Southern Arizona for about 11 years – after moving to Tucson while in the Air Force and meeting his wife there.
He now lives in the Vail area with his wife Jennifer and two children, Andrew and Abbigail.
Another recent addition is Director of Nursing Debbie Buck, who joined the hospital staff in July.
A nurse since 1989, Buck said, “I have been a nurse a long time with tons of hands-on experience.”
Buck received her LPN from Reid State College in Evergreen, Ala. in 1989, then worked as an LPN in rural Alabama until 1996.
“During that time I was a float nurse in the small community hospital in my home town, Bay Minette, Ala.,” which Buck described as “about as big as Benson.”
“I worked in every nursing department from ICU to labor and delivery.”
Buck received her ADN from Bishop State Community College in Mobile, Ala., working as a travel nurse for the next 13 years.
“Three years ago, I traveled here (Willcox) and fell in love with the
facility, the people, and the area,” she told the Range News.
Buck then went to the Benson Hospital, working for a year as its Nurse Manager.
“I heard about the opening here,” she said. “I still had many friends here.”
Buck lives in Benson, and her 16-year-old son Christian attends high school in St. David.
“When I was here several years ago, I took ownership,” she said. “I just really wanted to come back here to live, work, and be part of the community.”
As DON, Buck is focusing on “building a stronger nursing staff,” she said.
“I knew if I focused on that, everything else would fall into place. I have such good nurses. I really do.”
Buck appreciates the support she has received from the administration, staff, department heads, and the community.
“If I’m successful, it’s because they have made it possible for me to be,” she told the Range News.
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