Doctors started becoming readily available, and it changed the medical delivery system. What they were able to do inside the group practice was keep the personal relationship intact, unlike the large, big-city practices. In those large group practices, patients see different doctors as they re available. But here, Smith says, patients still have the luxury of being able to identify with a specific doctor. He or now, she may not be on call when a patient comes in for an unplanned visit, but patients still have the luxury of being able to identify with a specific doctor for regular care.
Access is much better.
And whichever doctor is on call when the baby arrives takes care of the delivery. As the hospital has grown, it has also expanded its capabilities. It got its first nuclear medicine scan in the early 70s, and all kinds of technology has followed CTs, MRIs, invasive radiology. And right now, the hospital has torn down Dr. Cullen Hall s former office to make way for a new treatment center that will house a linear accelerator, a powerful X-ray machine used to treat cancer patients. Coronary care pioneers Roy Agner and Frank Marsh pioneered the coronary care unit, Smith says, and the monitoring capabilities have all changed since then.