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Purchase of VeinViewer made possible by auxiliary donationGifts from auxiliary total nearly $825,000 since 1959
by Larry Arnold
Photo: great new piece of equipment was purchased for Mile Bluff Medical Center by a wonderful bunch of ladies. Pictured here are a few of the members of Mile Bluff’s auxiliary.
Blood draws for a wide variety of laboratory tests and other medical procedures became more comfortable for Mile Bluff patients recently, thanks to an innovative device called a VeinViewer.
VeinViewer utilizes near-infrared light, a digital video camera and an image processing unit to build a picture of the patient’s vasculature. The device then projects that image onto the patient’s skin, using visible light and a digital projector. It works by differentiating red blood cells from the surrounding tissue, and after a computer digitizes that image from a video camera, it is projected onto the patient’s skin showing the vein. This enables the practitioner to easily locate the vein from which the blood is to be drawn, making it much easier for the person doing the test and therefore making it much more comfortable for the patient.
“Although the VeinViewer can be used on patients of any age, it is particularly helpful for babies and elderly patients, whose veins are thin and flat and more easily damaged,” said Kathy Marose RN, who has directed the purchase and installation of the VeinViewer at Mile Bluff.
The VeinViewer will be used in many areas of the hospital. The compact unit is very mobile, easily moved from one location to another. It will be kept in a hallway in the emergency department and transported when necessary. It will be extremely useful for many departments, ranging from the laboratory to surgery and labor and delivery.
Although performed frequently, venipuncture is commonly thought of as one of the most painful and anxiety-provoking invasive procedures. Experts estimate that more than 1 billion venipunctures are performed annually. While many of them are for blood draws for routine laboratory tests, a substantial number are for such procedures as IVs and PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter). The VeinViewer increases the chances to successfully perform these procedures on the first attempt.
Discussing the VeinViewer project, Kathy said the device cost $29,000. Of this total, the Hess Memorial Hospital Auxiliary contributed $20,000. Ethel Neve, president of the auxiliary, said that since their organization in 1959, the auxiliary has donated a total of $824,799.18 to Mile Bluff Medical Center, most of it representing profits from the sales at their thrift shop on Elm Street in Mauston.
Kathy also noted that comments from the Press Ganey patient satisfaction surveys were instrumental in focusing attention on this recently-developed device. In reading responses to the survey forms which patients are asked to fill out after their discharge from the hospital, it was noted that there were opportunities to improve the comfort of blood draws, IV insertions and other similar procedures.
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Mile Bluff Medical Center/ 1050 Division St./ Mauston, WI 53948 / 608 847 6161 Mile Bluff Medical Center, 1050 Division Street, Mauston, WI 53948 608 847 6161 or Toll free in WI at 800 252 4377 © 2008 Mile Bluff Medical Center |
