Employee Spotlight: Charla Hurst

Our employees here at Clermont Radiology make up the heart and soul of the company. With the blog we have an opportunity to spotlight our best and brightest, so that you can get a better understanding of the fabric of our company and gain some interesting facts about our team members in the process! The first interview on the blog is with one of our most recognizable faces here at Clermont Radiology, Charla Hurst. Read on to find out what Charla does for us at the company and discover some interesting trivia as well!

1.)    How long have you been with Clermont Radiology?

Nine wonderful years.

2.)    What is your primary position here at Clermont Radiology and what’s a day like for you?

I am the General Operations Manager for Clermont Radiology. My days are always complicated and packed, but I’ll attempt to break it down for you! In the morning when I get to the office, the first thing I do is check on the staff and make sure everything is going okay. After that I work with patients to make sure they are doing well, and help them out if they need anything. Then I go into market with doctors and attorneys, visiting about ten to fifteen different offices a day. I usually go to lunch with a doctor or attorney as well. Finally, I come back to the office and catch up on any requests I might have, respond to any emails, and address any concerns.

3.)    What’s your favorite part of working at Clermont Radiology?

The marketing side of my job; getting to work with the doctors and attorneys.

4.)    What do you feel is the biggest impact Clermont Radiology has on the lives of others?

We have exceptional patient care. We’re able to diagnose problems efficiently so that their doctor can treat the issue in a timely manner.

5.)    Tell me something unusual about yourself.

As a new mother, I always make time to pump my breast milk; no matter how busy my day is!

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Recap of Our 2015 Holiday Party!

On December 5^th, Clermont Radiology held its first ever Holiday Party at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando, and let me tell you, the Rosen Shingle Creek sure knows how to throw a party!

Clermont Radiology was given the breathtaking Butler Ballroom for our Holiday party; a gorgeous octagon shaped space with a dance floor directly in the middle, a balcony circling the ballroom, and an elegant chandelier dangling from the center.

From seven PM to midnight, Clermont Radiology had the ballroom to our selves. During the five hour party, we not only had a magnificent feast of holiday treats, we also had plenty of entertainment to keep us busy and full of cheer.

There was the ever popular photo booth, that included an endless 
array of props for us to goof around with, the DJ with his current hits playlist keeping the vibe going all night, an open liquor bar with a hilarious bartender, and a strolling magician that performed tricks none of us had ever seen and carried a rabbit in his hat! (Not really, but he did actually swallow balloons!)

We'd like to thank our catering manager, Joan Deslauriers, for her help in planning the event; as well as her helpful assistant, Jessica Castrejon, who walked us through the process of planning the party with patience and ease. Our photographer, John Clarke, who can be reached at JCL3240833@aol.com, was ever so essential to the beautiful red carpet shots and candid photos of every person present. DJ Yves and his team, Dex and Mike, listened to our requests and made sure everyone was having a good time, as well as providing the photo booth; they can be reached at facebook.com/DjYvesL. And our witty magician, Matt Durham, who was responsible for multiple laughs and shock value as he whipped out unusual card tricks and balloon swallowing that dazzled us all night, can be contacted for any kind of event you can imagine at mattdurhammagic.com.

Clermont Radiology had a wonderful time at the Rosen Shingle Creek, and we hope to do it again in 2016 and succeed in being even bigger and better in our second year!



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Top 5 Holiday Activities in Lake County & the Surrounding Areas

The Holiday season can be a bit overwhelming at times, which is why it’s always nice to have Holiday festivities to unwind and celebrate with. From Holiday music and lighting ceremonies to seasonal charity events, Lake County and the surrounding areas have you covered this year. Here are our Top 5 activities to do during the Holiday season.

Christmas Dance Party

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Anastassia Ballroom and Dance

32624 Blossom Lane, Leesburg, FL. 34788

A Holiday dance party featuring a phenomenal ballroom dance show and dancing for couples. There is limited occupancy so registering is recommended.

Now Snowing 2015

Saturday, November 28, 2015 - Thursday, December 31, 2015

Celebration Town Center

701 Front Street, Celebration, FL. 34747

Now in its 17^th year, Now Snowing in nearby Celebration is a Holiday tradition. Featuring nightly “snowing” at 6, 7, and 9 pm, the month long event also hosts Charles Dickens Carolers, photos with Santa, carriage rides, and choice Holiday concerts, specifically the Radio Disney Holiday Concert on December 19.

Ice! Featuring ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

Tuesday, November 24, 2015 - Sunday, January 3 , 2015

Gaylord Palms Resort

6000 W Osceola Pkwy, Kissimmee, FL. 34746

Live the classic tale of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas while strolling through two million pounds of ice sculptures in this Winter Wonderland that appears annually at the Gaylord Palms Resort.

Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest

Saturday, November 21, 2015 – Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Open weekends and select days

35317 Huff Road, Eustis, FL. 32736

During the Holiday season in Eustis, Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest is the perfect place to not only find and chop down your own Christmas tree, but enjoy Santa’s Flight Zip Line, concession stands, hayrides, a petting zoo,  meet and greets with Santa, a maze adventure, and more.

FloridaLakes Symphony Orchestra - Winter Wonderland

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Mount Dora Community Building Theater

520 N Baker St, Mt. Dora, FL. 32757

Enjoy a tribute to Louis Armstrong by the John De Paola jazz trio, who will be performing everyone’s Christmas favorites. 

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There you have it; our five favorite things to do for the Holiday season. We hope you’ll try some of them out!

From everyone at Clermont Radiology, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

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Heart Patient? Possible Developments Ahead

Are you a likely heart patient in waiting? Well chances are that soon you will have to wait no more in order to find out. A new piece of technology is about to hit the market and chances are that it will become a standard for diagnosing heart disease.

This particular technology, called intravascular photoacoustic imaging, will work by using ultrasound signals from laser-exposed molecules. The resulting images are three-dimensional and show plaques ready to rupture and cause heart attacks.

While this particular technology shows promise and it will likely see daylight soon, it may meet with a mixed reaction from professionals using established methods.

If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated professionals here at Clermont Radiology looks forward to speaking with you.

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And Now For Something New

As medicine evolves, so to does the manner in which Doctor’s practice it. Often times patients will meet with and consult Physician’s Assistants as opposed to the Doctor. With the advent of social media and wireless technology there is now a greater and quicker flow of information.

Right now you are more than likely asking yourself how this may affect you in a diagnostic imaging setting. The answer to that particular question is the term Teleradiology.  The practice of Teleradiology is basically Radiologists and other specialists sharing images without actually being in close physical proximity.


This practice is fairly new and has only grown with the progress wireless communications. The practice of Teleradiology is one that has met with mixed emotions but is seemingly thriving nevertheless.


If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated professionals here at Clermont Radiology looks forward to speaking with you.


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A Way to Help Veterans

A big problem for a lot of veterans is that when they suffer from PTSD and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. The problem of a lack of clear definition can hinder a veteran’s ability to get the proper care. With hybrid PET/CT scanning there seems to be a lesser degree of difficulty.

When one considers the difference between PTSD and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, it should not be so hard to differentiate between the two, but the behaviors are so similar that using imaging as an eventual differentiation tool is a great way to go.

While PTSD is addressed through therapy, there could possibly be a correlation between PTSD and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. These studies have a ways to go, but it will be interesting the developments created by diagnostic imaging.

If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures, please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated professionals here at Clermont Radiology looks forward to speaking with you.

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Athletic, Middle Aged, and Suddenly Dead

Once you reach a certain age it’s more than likely that health concerns will likely creep up on you.  As it turns out a recent study has shown that if you are a middle-aged athlete you may well be at risk of a coronary episode.

This type of development plays a big part in the need for CT screening for specific patients that meet that criteria. A number of 19% based on studies conducted in the Netherlands. It was stated “CT detects coronary artery disease in about one in five asymptomatic male athletes who have no signs of ischemia on their exercise [electrocardiogram (ECG)]."


This development further strengthens the need for responsible diagnostic imaging procedures in areas of prevention.


If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated professionals here at Clermont radiology looks forward to answering your questions.


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A Good Consideration To Have

While the breast cancer battle rages on it’s vital that women at risk know some of the factors that may play a part in breast cancer risk. Breast density is actually one of many cancer risk factors.


Dr. Deborah Rhodes from the Mayo Clinic recently stated “There's this incredible national push toward educating women about breast density," Not a lot of women are aware that breast density is one of the single biggest inhibitors for mammography’s failure to spot breast cancer.


If you have any questions about breast cancer, breast density or any other issues please feel free to give us a call. Our talented staff here at Clermont radiology looks forward to answering any and all questions you may have.

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The Push For Low Dose

On the coverage front it has been proposed by CMS that low dose CT screening be covered, which represents a huge victory for diagnostic imaging as a whole. According to an article published by dotmed.com : “It completes the reimbursement picture for lung cancer screening,"

These news essentially mean that care and monitoring for lung cancer are making greater strides. The end result is yet to be seen but these pushes will also mean greater push for more CT innovations down the line, which means more effective treatment as well.

If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. We at Clermont Radiology look forward to aiding you in your diagnostic imaging needs. 

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Ultrasound you say? I have an App for that

With most everything in the world today, there is always an app for something. Ultrasounds are apparently not the exception to the rule. The usage of tablets for ultrasounds is something that’s being touted as the next big thing, especially if ultrasound is vital and needed prior to arrival at a hospital.

The whole purpose behind the app is ensuring that care, especially in an emergency situation is faster and far more accurate. It may sound incredible but the fact is that this is the kind of thing that can make care more efficient.


If you have any questions with regards to diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. We here at Clermont Radiology look forward to answering any and all questions that you may have.


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Imaging for the Bladder

Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) technology has gotten FDA clearance. According to dotmed.com “NBI will allow physicians to remove small tumors in their offices, which will prevent costly operating room procedures if the tumor is spotted early enough.” 

This is a great because it cuts down on having to coordinate hospital visits for relatively simple procedures that shouldn't take quite as long as they normally do. According to the dotmed.com article “Blood absorbs NBI's blue and green light more so it makes the tissue appear darker and allows the surgeon to see vascular structures on the mucosal surface more clearly. 

The blue light is used to highlight the shallow capillaries and the green light highlights deeper veins.” This kind of advance may mean a new overall solution to an old problem, aiding in cutting down patient inconvenience, not to mention bladder tumors. 

If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated professionals here at Clermont Radiology looks forward to answering all your questions and addressing all your concerns. 

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The Mammography Future

Mammography is great at detecting tumors and it’s also known as a source of discomfort that employs the use of radiation. There is something new on the horizon that may become the replacement for mammography. The new modality on the block is known as microwave tomography. 

According to dotmed.com “During a microwave tomography exam, the breast is suspended in a liquid bath that is surrounded by 16 antennae. One at a time, each antenna illuminates the breast with a low powered microwave signal while the other antennae receive the signals that are transmitted through the breast.” 

This new modality sounds like it may well be revolutionary in the fight against breast cancer. While it’s still early, it would be interesting to see how this will be playing out over the next ten years. 

If you have any questions about breast cancer screening please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated professionals here at Clermont Radiology looks forward to answering any and all questions that you may have.  

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The Newest FDA Approval in the Alzheimer’s Fight

Alzheimer’s disease as well as dementia are two terrible diseases that not only hurt a patient, they hurt families. Dealing with either one of these very difficult diseases can take a major toll on everyone involved. The sad thing is that no amount of diagnostic imaging can really avoid either and help provide a good strong treatment program that will deal with either condition.

A CT scan, MRI scan, and any other test will reveal that it’s there and what the level it’s in. Now the FDA has made a move forward in order to work on the monitoring end of things. Vizamyl has been approved for the purpose of monitoring Alzheimer’s and dementia. The drug is basically a PET scan tracer that’s used to create color images for images normally seen in black and white.

The diagnosticimaging.com article stated that “Many Americans are evaluated every year to determine the cause of diminishing neurological functions, such as memory and judgment that raise the possibility of Alzheimer’s disease.” This kind of improvement helps because although it’s not a cure or a manner of prevention, it definitely aides in the battle for discovery.

Vizamyl will not tell you what stage Alzheimer’s is in, nor will it be used to predict whether or not it’s coming. The drug itself is for scanning purposes, but on the plus side a clear and more accurate scan is likely to help the patient in a greater way. The battle against Alzheimer’s and dementia is not likely to change for a long time. It will take much more research and far greater work to actually make progress.

To be able to see a colorful image and better interpret it is a step in the proper direction and hopefully it will mean that in the end better things will lie ahead. If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated imaging professionals here at Clermont Radiology looks forward to answering all your questions and aiding you in your imaging needs. 

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What’s Good for the Liver

A lesion on the liver can mean any number of things. A complex condition in the liver can be a major problem. Treatment for any condition of the liver will succeed if the detection of the condition is early. Diagnostic imaging procedures such as the PET/CT scans are what are normally used in order to characterize lesions. It’s been recently speculated though that the PET/MRI might actually be better than the PET/CT. As stated in an article published by auntminnie.com “PET/MRI provided better diagnostic confidence due to soft-tissue contrast and complementary information from different MRI sequences.”

The study conducted in order to arrive at this conclusion is the first one conducted for this purpose. According to the study there is more accurate differentiation and the article explained that “MRI offers enhanced soft-tissue contrast and has proved particularly beneficial for patients with small liver lesions. The modality has shown superior results compared to CT and PET/CT for depicting and characterizing liver tumors.” While this is a first study it will be interesting to see if greater samples yield the same results.

All conditions affect people in different ways, when you think of how incredibly different people’s immune systems are. One patient can go through a liver lesion and issue easily while the other could succumb to greater effects almost immediately. The way the study was conducted there were 70 patients enrolled. Of the 70 patients 39 were men while 31 were women. The study was thorough and it employed experienced readers looking at the results of each sub modality and comparing findings.

There is still the fact that it was only 70 people with a median age of 56 with a plus/minus of 14 years. The problem with that is that the variance does not include or factor younger patients. There are too many factors that have yet to be considered to say that the results are a fact. It will be interesting to see if physicians start employing the PET/MRI more as a result of these findings or if more studies will be conducted in the future.

If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call. Our team of dedicated imaging experts here at Clermont Radiology looks forward to answering any questions you may have and helping you with all your imaging needs. 

The Future: Fears and Concerns of Medical Care

The way things are now it’s easy to understand why there are concerns over the future of medical care. With so many people unhappy with the current cost of medical care and the options to cover it, it’s no surprise that studies are showing concern with the future.

According to an article published in dotmed.com : “Only one-third of consumers and hospital administrators, one-quarter of primary care physicians and one-tenth of specialists believe that the health care system is on the path to success, according to a new survey conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton and Ipsos Public Affairs.” What this means is essentially everyone’s worried.

The reason why so many people are worried is a concern that healthcare costs are climbing and making it difficult for people to access the same quality. It will be interesting to see if newer legislation will change thing worries. If you have any questions about diagnostic imaging procedures please feel free to give us a call, we at Clermont Radiology look forward to answering any questions you may have.

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