Stephens Co. Hospital Authority Approves Pair of Purchases

The Stephens County Hospital Authority wraps up its calendar year by making a couple of purchases.

Last Monday, the Authority met for its monthly meeting and approved the purchase of two items.

First, the Authority approved the purchase of a new cardiac monitoring system for the hospital.

Stephens County Hospital Administrator Ed Gambrell said it will replace one that is about 14 years old.

Gambrell said technology has come a long way with these systems in that time.

He explained the new system will allow a patient to be monitored from virtually anywhere in the hospital.

“A doctor might want to monitor the heart rate and other body functions of a patient, say on the third floor, or down on OB, or really anywhere, and with this system, you can do that,” said Gambrell. “We have a monitor tech that is here 24/7, stationed in the intensive care unit. The monitor tech can monitor that patient’s functions from anywhere in the building. It is just a good, state-of-the art tool that we need.”

According to Gambrell, the new cardiac monitoring system will cost about $790,000.

Meanwhile, Gambrell said the hospital authority also approved the purchase of a new tissue processor last Monday.

He said that will be used in the hospital’s lab.

“A tissue processor is used in the histology of the lab to compare slides for our pathologist to analyze,” said Gambrell. “The tissue processor we have is also approximately 14 years old.”

The new one will cost about $50,468, according to Gambrell.

Besides the two purchases, Gambrell said the Stephens County Hospital Authority also received its quarterly Quality Improvement report at its meeting last Monday.