Two organizations with strong ties to Grinnell Regional Medical Center have collaborated to create a $50,000 community challenge to upgrade the hospital’s magnetic resonance imaging unit (MRI) services.
Iowa Radiology and the Claude W. Ahrens Charitable Trust are offering the challenge for this technology investment. The goal is to remodel an area inside the hospital to accommodate a new, permanent MRI and the specialized construction needed to house the sensitive equipment. GRMC’s current MRI is housed in a mobile unit adjacent to the medical center.
Approximately $120,000 has been raised so far toward the estimated $300,000 project. Earlier this year, GRMC received a generous estate gift from Gail and Margaret Wheeler. The GRMC Board of Directors designated a portion of that gift toward the MRI project. To honor this legacy gift, the new room will be named the Gail and Margaret Wheeler MRI Suite.
“We are thrilled to have such a great start to this campaign effort,” says Todd C. Linden, GRMC president and CEO. “GRMC is fortunate to have partners like Iowa Radiology and the Ahrens Charitable Trust. We are grateful to them and to the Wheeler family for their legacy gift.”
Under the challenge from Iowa Radiology and the Ahrens Charitable Trust, all new or additional gifts to the MRI campaign will be matched dollar for dollar up to $50,000.
“The new MRI technology offers a wonderful balance between patient-friendly design and advanced diagnostic MRI imaging,” says Rick Portel, chief operating officer of Iowa Radiology. “We are pleased to help bring this state-of-the-art technology to the area. It is important to helping medical services remain in the community.”
Susan Witt, a trustee of the Ahrens Charitable Trust and chair of the GRMC Board of Trustees, agrees.
“This campaign is about more than funding vital medical equipment,” she says. “It’s about providing the best comprehensive medical care close to home for residents of Grinnell and the surrounding communities. An upgrade to the MRI will provide opportunity for more diagnostic testing options so people won’t need to travel out of Grinnell for these life-saving services.”
Gina Fuller, GRMC’s director of radiology, says the new MRI will offer a patient friendly design.
“Unlike traditional MRIs that have a long narrow tunnel, GRMC’s MRI will have a larger bore design. It will also be faster and more comfortable. The new technology will also allow our staff and radiologists to perform diagnostic exams here in Grinnell, such as abdominal scans, which our current mobile scanner cannot do. That means there is no reason for people to have to travel to Des Moines or Iowa City for these important tests.”
Anyone interested in more details about the MRI campaign is encouraged to call the Office of Development at 641-236-2589 or visit http://tinyurl.com/grmcmri.
No comments:
Post a Comment