Sign of the Times

Students get a glimpse of new radiology machine at Molokai General Hospital.

Bobbi-Li Morris, Tirzah Pactol, Mahailia Rapanot-McGuire, and Mariah Rapanot-McGuire from the Health Occupations Class at Molokai High School get an introduction to the new machine at Molokai General Hospital’s Radiology Department.

By Melissa Kelsey

Molokai General Hospital isn’t the only thing getting advances in technology – so are the island’s students. Four Molokai High School students walked the halls of the hospital’s Radiology Department last Friday with Head Radiology Technician Carl Langley to learn about what it takes to be a radiology professional.

Enrolled in the Health Occupations Class at Molokai High School, all four students are pursuing healthcare careers. They regularly visit the hospital to learn about healthcare procedures.

The students were some of the first to see a new machine the Radiology Department obtained last December. A source of pride for the hospital, the machine scans bones to measure bone density so doctors can help prevent and treat bone diseases such as osteoporosis. According to Langley, only seventeen other hospitals in the United States carry the machine, which offers the safest and most reliable technology for the test.

“Postmenopausal women should routinely take the test every two years, and patients diagnosed with osteoporosis should take the test annually,” Langley explained to the students. He says the test is also valuable for men to check their overall bone health and learn how diet relates to test results.