Day in the Life: Hartford Hospital

There are in-house departments that do dialysis. There are departments that get into imaging. Still others take on medical gas distribution or might dabble in the research and development of new medical devices. Not very many take on all of these things — and more. At sprawling Hartford Hospital, there is very little the ambitious biomed department won’t try.

“The role of the Biomedical Engineering Department is ever changing. It has evolved from the old ‘fix-it shop’ to providing a comprehensive equipment management and technology assessment program for a wide range of medical technologies,” explained Eric Rosow, Director of Biomedical Engineering at Hartford Hospital, a major, 815-bed medical center in Connecticut’s capital city. This dynamic operation, which now answers to the hospital’s Chief Information Officer, handles beds, monitors, imaging, anesthesia and research with equal aplomb.

The department has responsibility for dialysis and provides seven-day-a-week coverage. Its large workshop in the nephrology department accommodates the constant parade of machines requiring preventative maintenance.

	Biomedical Equipment Technician Kyle Walsh, CBET has a shop with a view near the respiratory therapy department.
	Radiology Engineer, Keith Crosby, along with his Biomedical Radiology Team, maintains imaging systems throughout the institution.
	Specialty centers for respiratory, the operating room, anesthesia, imaging, hemodialysis, and patient equipment mechanics are near the clinical areas they serve.
	Biomedical Team Leader John F. Elwood III, CBET and CET, is a well-respected, 26-year veteran of the Connecticut healthcare technology scene.
	Fellow Biomedical Team Leader Amato D. DeRosa, was the department’s respiratory expert. He has spent over 13 years at Hartford.