Cone Health Parent Advocates for New Service

Driving hours for a procedure that takes minutes was adding up.

Kelly Leggett knows what it’s like to be a mom sitting in a medical waiting room. She knows the hardship of being referred from one place to another because of limited equipment or capabilities. Her 12-year-old daughter, Clare, suffers from celiac disease – a diagnosis that affects the small bowel and the absorption of key vitamins and minerals, which can affect many systems in the body.  

While Clare received care from a very capable physician in Greensboro, the Leggetts had to drive hours round trip to someone able to offer a pediatric Bone Densitometry (DEXA) Scan used to identify bone health issues. The hours of driving were made more frustrating since the procedure only takes a few minutes to complete. 

While the equipment was available in Greensboro, no one locally was trained to operate the equipment or read the scans. Traditionally, the scans are used to diagnose arthritis, stress fractures and other conditions in adults. 

Having this need literally brought to her own doorstep, Dr. Kelly Leggett, Cone Health Vice President and Chief Clinical Transformation Officer, went to work to find a solution. 

Leggett collaborated with Dr. Beth Brown, radiologist, Greensboro Imaging and Cone Health to develop the training necessary to begin offering children (and their parents) this service locally. A pediatric DEXA scan is now available at Cone Health Imaging at Drawbridge Parkway, which is on the ground floor of MedCenter Greensboro.

“These services are a simple procedure for children under the age of 18,” says Leggett, “and to offer them locally provides convenience and peace of mind to family caretakers throughout our region.”