The July meeting of the hospital board of trustees was tinged with sadness
at the announced resignation of Pam Wickkiser.
For the past eight years, Wickkiser has served as Humboldt General Hospital’s
Radiology Manager and more recently as one of two Administrative Directors.
Beginning this month, she will assume duties as the CEO of a network of
outpatient imaging centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“This is a sad day for us,” HGH CEO Jim Parrish told board
trustees. “During her time here, Pam has moved the imaging department
from the last century into the modern century.”
“We will miss her so much,” he continued, “but we also
congratulate her on this next stage in her career.”
The Pennsylvania native arrived in Nevada in 2007 after an already long
career in the medical imaging field.
She had recently completed a master’s degree in business administration
with an emphasis on health care management and was genuinely excited to
implement what she called Radiology’s three-tiered promise to the
community: clinical excellence, premium customer service, and the most
advanced technology available.
Following her arrival at HGH, Wickkiser, a registered cardiac sonographer,
immediately began offering cardiac ultrasound at the hospital in combination
with Dr. Shouping Li, who had also recently joined the HGH team.
Nevada’s largest and most accommodating MRI unit followed along with
an expanded Radiology Department to support the machine.
A new cardiovascular ultrasound system was next, followed by digital mammography,
a new DXA bone scanner, an upgrade from a 10-slice to a 128-slice CT Scanner,
a portable x-ray machine and the most recent addition of full-time nuclear medicine.
Additionally, over the past eight years, Wickkiser and her staff members
achieved the nation’s highest certifications through the American
Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT), both as a department and
in individual modalities.
Wickkiser also suggested and then oversaw the Patient Access Department
as a way to help navigate patients through everything from scheduling
appointments and working with insurance companies to understanding their bills.
Perhaps Wickkiser’s biggest coup, though, was the transition from
film to digital. With the installation of a GE Picture Archiving and Communications
System in 2011, physicians finally had access to a patient’s complete
medical record along with the ability to review diagnostic reports and
associated images via computer.
In fact, in commemoration of Wickkiser’s efforts to go digital, Parrish
presented Wickkiser with a silver HGH coin at the board meeting that was
minted from reclaimed x-ray film silver.
“This is indicative of how far you have brought us,” he said.
Wickkiser told board members she was honored to have had the opportunity
to work at HGH. “You gave me the chance to have an effect on others,”
she said, “and I know they had an effect on me.”
Wickkiser’s last day on the job is August 21; Radiology Lead Technologist
Bryn Echevarria will assume duties as Radiology Manager, while Diane Klassen
will be the new Lead Technologist.