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September 29, 2020

ASRT Foundation and Canon Medical Announce 2020 Safety FiRsT® Grant Recipients

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –  Baxter Regional Medical Center and Baton Rouge General Pennington Cancer Center will receive Safety FiRsT® grants to implement initiatives that will elevate patient and technologist safety in the workplace. Funded by Canon Medical Systems USA, Inc. and administered by the ASRT Foundation, the Safety FiRsT® program awards two ASRT members per year a grant of up to $7,000 each to improve radiologic technologist safety in their departments.

This year’s recipients are:
Jennifer Holmes, M.S., R.T.(R)(CT), who applied on behalf of Baxter Regional Medical Center of Mountain Home, Arkansas. The grant will be used to purchase lateral transfer airbed systems. These patient handling devices provide enhanced safety in the lateral transfer of patients for imaging procedures. The system uses air mattress technology to protect the integrity of the patient’s injury while reducing shoulder and back stress on the technologist.

“Most of our patients are lateral transfers from a stretcher to a radiology exam table,” Holmes said. “These types of systems help patients feel safer and experience less pain during transfer. It also protects employees in situations where a proper patient transfer cannot be carried out due to lower staffing, specifically during third shift.”

Candace Ray, B.S., R.T.(T), who applied on behalf of Baton Rouge General Pennington Cancer Center. The grant will be used to purchase a ceiling lift for patient transfer in the facility’s busiest radiation therapy treatment unit.

“My team and I are so grateful to receive this safety grant,” said Ray. “By installing a ceiling lift over our treatment room table, we can create a safer environment for our radiation therapists and our patients. The installation will set a new standard for patient safety in radiation oncology in the greater Baton Rouge area, and our patients and therapists will be safer every single day.”

The ASRT Foundation and Canon Medical Safety FiRsT® grants are funded by a grant from Canon Medical.

About the ASRT Foundation
The ASRT Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, the world’s largest radiologic science association. The ASRT Foundation supports and empowers medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals and students to pursue opportunities that improve patient care.

About Canon Medical Systems USA, Inc.
Canon Medical Systems USA, Inc., headquartered in Tustin, Calif., markets, sells, distributes and services radiology and cardiovascular systems, including CT, MR, ultrasound, X-ray and interventional X-ray equipment. For more information, visit Canon Medical Systems’ website at https://us.medical.canon.