“Our hospital enlisted David’s consulting services to obtain radioactive materials licensing for our new cardiology clinic in Visalia. David projected a sense of confidence and efficiency from the first phone call I had with him. Besides being incredibly knowledgeable about this field he is extremely well connected. It’s obvious he put a lot of time and energy into developing and maintaining relationships with people – and those relationships certainly paid off in our regard. Not only did David deliver all that he promised but he also was able to finalize a licensing renewal we had spent years working to resolve with the State of California. David quickly developed a plan for this issue and resolved everything in record time. I have told everyone at our hospital, including our Executive Team, that the cost for David was the best money spent for this multi-million-dollar clinic project. I highly recommend David – he is intelligent, astute, efficient and a down-to-earth person with a wonderful sense of humor. I wish all consultants were like him!”
– Tracy M. Salsa, RN, BSN, MBA, Nurse Manager, Chronic Disease Management Center & Family Medicine Center, Kaweah Delta Health Care District, Visalia, CA
– Jose Thekkumthala, PhD, DABR, Medical Physicist, Sequoia Regional Cancer Center, Visalia, CA
– Kelly McFadden, ECG Management Consultants, San Diego, CA
THE PROJECT
A healthcare consultant contacted me in late May to help her client resolve a radioactive materials (RAM) licensing issue. The healthcare district targeted August 1 to open its new Cardiology Clinic but the new facility wasn’t listed on a radioactive materials (RAM) license and the district was now considering spending many thousands of dollars to create a pad and utilize a mobile service in order to maintain its targeted opening date. In talking with the consultant and district representatives I learned:
– The new Cardiology Clinic was miles from the main hospital and could not be a Use Location on the district’s existing RAM license.
– The new Cardiology Clinic was located near the district’s Regional Cancer Center that had been a Use Location on the existing RAM license but had been informed by the Radiologic Health Branch that it was too distant from the hospital and needed to have its own RAM license.
– The new Cardiology Clinic was being established to replace a clinic that had never opened but was listed as a Use Location on the district’s existing RAM license.
– The physicians who would provide services in the new clinic hadn’t been added to the existing RAM license as Authorized Users for the clinic that never opened.
– The district’s existing RAM license had expired and been in “timely renewal” status for over six years.
THE RESULTS
With the cooperation and support of staff from multiple departments, I achieved the following results:
– The new Cardiology Clinic and the Regional Cancer Center became Use Locations on one, new RAM license that was signed by the Radiologic Health Branch on the targeted opening date of August 1.
– The district did not spend any funds on physical preparations for a mobile service.
– The never-opened Cardiology Clinic Use Location was decommissioned and removed from the district’s existing RAM license.
– The new Cardiology Clinic physicians were approved as Authorized Users on the new RAM license.
– The renewal of the district’s existing RAM license was approved and signed by the Radiologic Health Branch on August 24.