From Bridgton to Topsham, Outpatient Imaging Just Got Easier
Patients of Central Maine Healthcare can now conveniently access affordable, local MRI services, with the addition of an all-new mobile magnetic resonance imaging unit, the system announced this week.
The self-contained unit will contain a state of the art, 1.5T high-field, open-bore MRI offering high detail and clarity–with the maximum comfort level for patients. It will serve patients in the new Topsham Care Center starting in August and at Central Maine Orthopaedics in Auburn beginning in late 2018. One of the few open open-bore MRIs in the region that also feature extremely high detail, the mobile MRI is a convenient option to in-hospital imaging services.
“Access, affordability, and a high-quality patient experience are top priorities for Central Maine Healthcare,” said Ryan McKeown, vice president for strategy and managed care at CMH. “Having an MRI should be as convenient and comfortable as possible, and it shouldn’t require a long drive or time spent waiting in a hospital setting. Our new service puts the patient first.”
MRI is a noninvasive medical test that uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses, and a computer to produce pictures of virtually all internal body structures. These precise images allow clinicians to clearly see details of soft tissue, bone, joints, and ligaments. Many physicians now say it is one of their most critical diagnostic tools for everything from sports injuries to early stages of disease.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t review at least a dozen MRI scans for my patients—it’s a critical tool for orthopedic surgeons,” said Dr. Michael F. Regan, a board-certified surgeon who practices at Central Maine Orthopaedics. “And likewise, for patients, an accessible, convenient, and affordable MRI unit is critical for their care. The new mobile MRI scanner will be all of that.”
CMH’s Mobile MRI will be operated by the system’s valued partner, Shields Healthcare Group, which already operates MRI and PET/CT services at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, and will offer imaging services at CMH’s new Topsham Care Center, opening in August. Patients may start making appointments as early as July 31. In addition to these locations, the MRI will also travel to Bridgton and Rumford Hospitals to support those facilities’ top-line imaging services, thus providing the widest possible access to patients in Central Maine.
For more information about Central Maine Healthcare’s new Mobile MRI, please call 1-800-258-4764. For more information about Shields Healthcare Group visit: https://shields.com/
