Price Family Radiology Clinic dedicated

A cross-school, intergenerational, intra-family collaboration facilitated the comprehensive rebuild of LLUSD’s imaging clinic

The Price Family Radiology and Imaging Clinic—a comprehensive rebuild of the LLU School of Dentistry’s imaging clinic—is the consequence of a cross-school, intergenerational, intra-family collaboration between Loma Linda University father and daughter alumni—Hal Price, MD’52, and Ginger Price, DDS’83.

Left to Right: Dean Ronald Dailey, Dr. Ginger Price, and Dr. Kenneth Abramovitch

Dr. Ginger Price joined her parents in a total contribution of $621,000 toward the renovation of the LLUSD imaging services.

The well attended formal dedication of the Price Family Radiology and Imaging Clinic took place in Prince Hall’s newly remodeled main entrance waiting room on February 24, 2016 and represented the first event of the 56th LLUSD Alumni Student Convention.

Dr. Ginger Price, who maintains a cosmetic dentistry practice in Phoenix, Arizona, was on hand to accept the appreciation of Loma Linda University and School of Dentistry administrators, faculty, and students on her own behalf and that of her father who died unexpectedly on October 28, 2015, just five months after receiving (with his wife, Virginia) Loma Linda University’s Distinguished Humanitarian Award at its 2015 School of Medicine conferring of degrees.

Ronald Dailey, PhD, dean, welcomed the attendees and expressed his appreciation for the Price family generosity as representative of “alumni who continue to make the School’s future not just possible but better.”

Richard Hart, MD, DrPH, president, LLUH, expressed the sentiments of Loma Linda University’s administration for the kind of alumni Loma Linda University schools produce, referring in this case particularly to those from the School of Medicine and School of Dentistry “who do not forget the blessings their education at Loma Linda made possible to them and to those for whom they administer their professional care.”

Dr. Ginger Price in conversation with President Hart (center) and Roger Hadley, MD, dean, LLU School of Medicine.

The revitalization of the School’s imaging capabilities that the Price family gift made feasible was not an indulgence. Among the 119,377 patient visits for the School of Dentistry’s pre-doctoral clinics over the recent year (2015), 16,455 procedures were required at its overburdened Radiology Clinic.

Kenneth Abramovitch, DDS, MS, chair, Department of Radiologic and Imaging Sciences, was “gratified to have the well-prepared space and latest technology to provide students and patients optimal imaging and diagnostic services.”

Dr. Abramovitch enjoys the revitalized clinic.

He expressed “profound thanks and appreciation to the LLU alumni in general and to the Price Family and Dr. Ginger Price in particular for their most admirable, honorable, and dignified effort to assist Loma Linda University and its School of Dentistry in its mission to prepare competent, compassionate healthcare providers for the current and coming needs of the patients that they will serve.”

Dr. Ginger Price is surrounded by the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences faculty and staff (L-R) Elaine Ruiz, RDAEF, supervisor; Dwight Rice, DDS’96, associate professor; Amy McIntyre, CDA, RDA, radiology clinician; Dr. Abramovitch; Dr. Price; Renee Flores, CDA, OSA, radiology clinician; and Dr. Kohltfarber.

Dr. Abramovitch went on to describe some of the advantages to Prince Hall’s radiology and imaging services represented by the Price Family Radiology and Imaging Clinic renovations that include expanded access to windows and the natural lighting that brightens the clinic and the morale of all who work there, widened corridors with easier access to the clinical spaces, two additional intraoral rooms (from 11 to 13), a nearly 20 percent increase in intraoral imaging capacity, and two additional sinks that make possible a gain of four radiology technicians and one additional staff member, an additional extra-oral/conebeam computed tomography (CBCT) unit (from two to three) that means a 50 percent increase in extraoral imaging capacity, and from 21 to 35 digital workstations—a 67 percent increase in digital viewing capacity.

 “‘You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give,’ senior dental student James Fedusenko, president, dentistry class of 2016, quoted Winston’s Churchill, in thanking the Price family as “a perfect example of people who understand this concept. From a student’s perspective we are so grateful for your generous gift. The radiology clinic renovations simultaneously improve the care we are able to provide our patients and enhance the patients’ experience. The stunning Price Family Radiology and Imaging Clinic leaves a lasting impression on our patients.”

Dean Dailey and Tim Sherwin, senior development officer, Office of Development, look on as dentistry senior class president James Fedusenko gives remarks of appreciation.

The upgrade of the radiology clinical suite centralizes the majority of the School’s radiology services, and elevates its oral radiology and imaging services to the most current, 21st century technology standards. At a cost of more than $1 million, all of this improvement was made possible by the pooling of student-generated income (tuition) with alumni gifts, the lion’s share provided by the Price family.

Dr. Ginger Price’s father-to-be, Halford (Hal) Reid Price, MD, returned from serving as a World War II medic to attend Pacific Union College as a religion major. There, as a Clearfield, Pennsylvania, native, he met and married Virginia Baker of Plainfield, Virginia.

Hal and Virginia Price in the 1950s

Hal graduated from the College of Medical Evangelists (now LLU School of Medicine) in 1956. Following an internship in Lansing, Michigan, the Prices settled in Arizona, where Hal became Scottsdale’s third physician.

For more than forty-five years, he made house calls, covered the emergency room, and delivered babies—the consummate old-fashioned family doctor. Virginia was the business manager and ran the practice, in addition to taking care of their home and their two daughters, Carol and Ginger.

Hal and Virginia Price enjoying retirement.

Early in his medical career, Hal felt the call to serve his church in some capacity. He envisioned Ellen White’s books printed in paperback for wide distributed at a nominal cost. When the White Estate and the General Conference rejected the idea, he began his own publishing company in 1960, the SDA Missionary Foundation. For more than forty years he printed the Conflict of the Ages series, distributing 40 million books in five languages. Again, it was Virginia who coordinated the book printing with the New York print houses, printed and mailed newsletters, shipped books, and answered hundreds of letters from around the world.

Captain Hal Price with the Sabreliner 60 he owned and flew. Virginia Price and grandson await the buckle-your-seatbelt order.

When the SDA Missionary Foundation became inactive, the Prices felt the Deferred Missions Appointment (DMA) Program at Loma Linda University was a natural fit to further the vision and goals their foundation had promoted.

In recognition of their commitment and dedication to this University, and in appreciation for their generous financial support that contributes to fulfillment of our institutional mission, “To make man whole,” Loma Linda University named Halford and Virginia Price recipients of the University Distinguished Humanitarian Award at its 2015 School of Medicine conferring of degrees.

As department chair Abramovitch noted, “We would be remiss not to mention that the team effort involved in determining the design of the new clinic facility included experienced advice from radiology staff, faculty, and clinic administration, as well as the professionalism of the indefatigable LLU construction and architectural services.”