Choctaw Regional Medical Center already offers many services to the residents of Choctaw County, and to be of greater service they are adding more. According to Radiology Director, Mike Summers, there is a ‘crawl, walk, run’ philosophy as CRMC continues to add needed services.
In the radiology area, the Medical center now offers PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter) line insertions to aid people on long-term antibiotics, poor nutrition, and certain medications that can be difficult on the patient’s veins. It also works particularly well for patients needing wound care.
Cardiac Calcium Scores are also now available at CRMC; the cardiac calcium score is a CT scan which is a predictive value of one’s risk of coronary artery disease. This is meant for patients who have risk factors, but without symptoms.
Another test is contrasted echocardiography which is an ultrasound procedure which aids in visualizing every segment of the left ventricle of the heart, which is crucial in dealing with congestive heart failure. Ultrasounds are also now offered at CRMC, as well as the Louisville Medical Clinic.
There is also an out-patient specialty clinic within the hospital which offers psychiatry, cardiology, pulmonology, and wound care.
CRMC has recently rolled out an infusion clinic which is staffed by registered nurses with the goal of helping patients receive needed healthcare locally. Summers stated that if a patient needs any type of infusion chances are, they can receive it at Choctaw Regional Medical Center.
Summers said, “Telehealth has been a huge area of growth for us.” He added that there are big players in the Mississippi healthcare community who are involved in telehealth and CRMC wants to be on the forefront of these innovations.
Telehealth allows patients to interact one-on-one with a specialist in another location via the internet. CRMC is partnered with North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo to provide a variety of services including psychiatric, counseling, a fragility clinic for those with osteoporosis, genetic testing, sleep studies, diabetic treatment which, according to Summers has been very successful. Summers stated that one of the major benefits of telehealth is that fewer patients slip through the cracks.
It is the mission of Choctaw Regional Medical Center to provide access to uniquely personal and high-quality healthcare, and the facility continues to add services in an attempt to provide the for the needs of the community.
