Boise State staff, faculty and students and St. Luke’s executives and staff members celebrated a generous donation from St. Luke’s to the Department of Radiologic Sciences at a reception on Oct. 16.
The new Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. ACUSON S2000 ultrasound system, which has 3D and 4D capabilities, is valued at about $185,000. A full suite of probes, each valued at about $30,000, accompanies the gift. The new ultrasound system replaces older equipment in the Department and ensures that Boise State students can practice and train on technology currently in use at several St. Luke’s locations and across the region and the country. That is good for students, the university and for St. Luke’s Health System which has hired hundreds of Boise State alumni for clinical and non-clinical positions. Boise State alumni work for St. Luke’s in computerized tomography, ultrasound, MRI, radiology and other imaging services and functions. The one of a kind gift underscores the reciprocal relationship between the two organizations.
Speakers at the reception included Dennis Mesaros, St. Luke’s Hospital Administrator, Meridian; Tim Dunnagan, Dean, College of Health Sciences; and Joie Burns, Director, Boise State Sonography Program. Students provided attendees a tour of the lab and demonstrations of the differences between the old and the new equipment regarding their ability to learn vascular and abdominal imaging techniques. The new equipment also offers the ability to train students in imaging skills that were not possible with the old equipment. The demonstrations showcased what a huge difference the new equipment makes in the level of detail the students are able to now see and report.
Since Boise State’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program began in 1996, it has graduated more than 100 sonographers. The program accepts one of every three applicants, with an average program participant GPA of 3.8. Program graduates experience a 93 percent first-time pass rate on national board examinations and a 98 percent job placement rate within one month of graduation.