Building a Radiation Therapy Training Facility – A Case Study Featuring VWCC

ABOUT VIRGINIA WESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Virginia Western Community College (VWCC)  offers  a variety of  programs leading to licensure or certification in Nursing, Practical Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Radiography, and Radiation Oncology. One curriculum prepares students to perform the responsibilities of an entry-level radiation therapist. These graduates are eligible to apply to take the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) exam, leading to certification as a registered Radiation Therapist, or RT-T.

SITUATION

Carole Graham, VWCC Radiation Therapy Program Director and program head for the college’s Radiation Oncology department, was heading up the develop- ment of the school’s new $26 million health sciences building project, the most important capital project in the school’s history. As the cornerstone for that project Graham was searching for a linear accelerator with a set of very specific capabilities; the ideal machine would have all the capabilities VWCC needed to properly train students without exceeding budget.

VWCC wanted to secure technology utilized by hospitals and clinics in order to prepare students for certification and give them the ability to hit the ground running in their first positions at treatment centers. The right equipment could give VWCC a powerful recruiting advantage and help ensure the quality of graduates they’re producing for their local heath care providers.

CHALLENGE

Graham, with the help of a physicist from nearby Carilion Clinic who was acting

as a consultant in the search for a linear accelerator, determined that she needed to locate an accelerator fitted with a state-of-the-art On-Board Imager® (OBI) consistent with the imaging technology new graduates would be expected to operate in treatment centers. Relatively new accelerators with this capability couldn’t be considered due to budget, so Graham and her team knew they needed to find a unique combination of a previous-generation accelerator with a more recent OBI upgrade.

SOLUTION

Graham talked with a number of equipment brokers, OEMs and third-party service companies, yet none were able to locate equipment that featured the combination of technology and affordability VWCC needed. Luckily for VWCC, the physicist working with Graham was familiar with ROS and initiated a dialogue.

As a first step after that initial conversation, ROS sourcing specialists and a client manager used the company’s ExactMatch™ process to pinpoint the “intersection” of technology and budget and determine the type of equipment to optimally satisfy VWCC’s need.

ROS client managers track and monitor an extensive variety of radiation oncology and imaging equipment currently in use, from all manufacturers. Among those  was one identified by ExactMatch™ as being ideal for VWCC: a late-1990s model recently retrofitted with an OBI upgrade. ROS quickly determined that the machine was available and could be installed with only minor engineering modifications to the facility in order to support the machine.

As one of the few community colleges nationally to have this type of technology in-house and available as part of their curriculum, VWCC feels they’ve gained an important recruiting advantage and enhanced their reputation across the region. They are also providing a valuable service by producing graduates ready to con- tribute immediately to patient care and treatment when they begin their careers.

Facilities have a number of options when it comes to sourcing radiation oncology and imaging equipment, including original equipment manufacturers, consultants, service/maintenance companies, and brokers. While each of these has limitations that affect their ability to deliver optimum value to customers, ROS excels in every category:

THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Graham relates that what makes ROS so easy to work with is the team’s “whatever it takes” attitude, evident throughout every phase of the project, from determining an organization’s needs to sourcing the equipment to final installation and testing. ROS provided the right level of communication and kept Graham updated on progress throughout the project.

In Graham’s words, “ROS’ capabilities, knowledge, options and approach captivated us instantly.”

She was especially impressed with the thoroughness of the planning done prior to installation. ROS’ experience, Graham said, was evident throughout the project and key to a process that went exactly as planned, eliminating costly or unexpected stumbling blocks or delays.

“Facilities purchasing and installing equipment for the first time can be overwhelmed by the amount of planning that goes into a project. A successful project requires putting together a team of experts who work together to ensure the project is completed within budget and on time. This is where ROS’s expertise is so valuable. We start by assessing the facility’s needs for equipment and technology, and align that with budget and timing constraints. We then put together the equipment solution options. When it comes to delivery and

installation, we coordinate with installation engineers, site physicists, construction managers, riggers and even the electricians and plumbers to ensure the project is executed seamlessly.”

— Michael Teague,

DIRECTOR, CLIENT MANAGEMENT GROUP, ROS

TAKEAWAY

Graham said that her team breathed a collective sigh of relief that they’d finally found a partner that fully understood its unique requirements and appreciated why the right equipment was so important to the college and its students.

“I’d like people in my position to know about ROS; I’d like other educational institutions to benefit from exceptional equipment priced fairly, and the partnership of an organization that makes the process clean and simple.

“Because of ROS’s ‘bend-over-backwards’ mindset, we are today the only school of its kind with this level of equipment. This equipment gives us a distinct recruiting advantage, and allows us to create a great clinical experience for our students.”

— Carole Graham,

DEAN OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS, PROGRAM HEAD, RADIATION ONCOLOGY PROGRAM, VWCC

ROS ADVANTAGES

Customers like Virginia Western Community College value ROS’s approach and the way its team executes every project:

• They work hard to understand customers’ challenges, then develop a customized solution for specific budgets and Their relationships across the world mean they have near-instant access to the right equipment for a wide range of needs, with a creative engineering team that can precisely tailor installation to a facility’s usage requirements and structure
• Their experience and knowledge translates into an overall process that’s faster and less demanding in terms of time and project management
• They communicate openly and keep customers regularly updated with the right information, eliminating uncertainty and “surprises”
• They take a “whatever it takes” approach that eliminates costly delays