Harrison County Community Hospital has purchased a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine that will offer greater access to the test beginning in November.
For the past 14 years, HCCH has contracted with Shared Medical Services, a company based in Wisconsin, to offer MRIs in a mobile unit at the hospital three days each week. “Investing in our own MRI machine makes sense financially, and it will be more convenient for patients,” said Tina Gillespie, the hospital’s chief executive officer. The newly purchased MRI unit will be in a freestanding structure on the west side of the hospital where the mobile MRI truck now parks.
MRIs will be available Monday through Friday after the hospital’s scanner arrives.
MRIs use a magnetic field and radio waves to create high-resolution images of the body’s organs, tissues, and skeletal system. This noninvasive test is used to diagnose a variety of diseases or injuries and can help monitor the effectiveness of medical treatments.
The mobile MRI scanner will remain available at HCCH three days each week until the site is prepared for the new unit, according to Erica Babinski, the hospital’s imaging services director.
