Scrubbing up in California

What made this particular job ideal for Primafila correspondent Peter Jaret. 

By Peter Jaret

I was thrilled to be offered an assignment to report on a state-of-the-art cardiac facility at Kaweah Delta Medical Center, which serves the largely agricultural region around Visalia, California, in the state’s sprawling and fertile Central Valley. I’d reported from Kaweah Delta once before for Primafila, and I’d been impressed by the expertise and friendliness of the medical team there. As an added bonus, I’d been charmed by the small town of Visalia, with its historic Art Deco buildings and lovely parks. Visalia is the sort of place most Californians drive past on their way somewhere else. I was delighted to have another chance to visit.

Once again, the doctors, nurses and technicians I interviewed were friendly, insightful and incredibly generous with their time. Some came to talk about their work even though it was their day off.

Part of the assignment was to conduct a filmed interview with the director of the cardiac catheter lab, Robbie Geide. I’d brought my nicest tie and sports coat. To my surprise, because we were inside the lab, we had to wear sterile hospital scrubs, caps, and cloth booties during the entire day. So much for my snazzy tie!

Dressed in my hospital scrubs, I was lucky enough to look on while a cardiac procedure was performed, using a suite of advanced medical diagnostic and treatment technologies that allow doctors to examine hearts and arteries non-invasively by guiding catheters carefully through blood vessels. The catheters can also be used to insert stents and repair faulty valves, among other procedures. Using these technologies, doctors can call up a patient’s complete medical record during a procedure. Other doctors, even at remote locations, can look on as a procedure is being performed, offering consultation in real-time. The integrated system allows technicians to enter detailed information about a procedure quickly and efficiently into a patient’s medical record, an important feature at a time when hospitals around the world are trying to control costs while improving quality.

I’ve always been enthralled by medical science. I once considered becoming a doctor, but decided to follow my other passion, journalism, instead. This assignment gave me a chance to watch a skilled specialist performing a potentially life-saving procedure and to write about the advanced technologies that make it possible.

Who could ask for more?