Community Rises to Challenge for New MRI at GRMC

Area residents accepted and met the challenge from Iowa Radiology and the Claude W. Ahrens Charitable Trust and have raised $100,000 toward the goal of $300,000 to upgrade a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit for Grinnell Regional Medical Center. A total of $250,000 has been raised so far toward the $300,000 goal.

The original challenge from Iowa Radiology and the Claude W. Ahrens Charitable Trust was to match dollar for dollar any new contributions up to $50,000.

“As a trustee of the Ahrens Charitable Trust and chair of the GRMC Board of Trustees, I am delighted that this matching campaign has been successful,” says Susan Witt. “We are grateful to our partners, Iowa Radiology, and to the community for working together on this project.”

In addition to wide community support of the challenge, 100 percent of GRMC’s radiology department participated in the challenge in some form.

“I felt very good about giving to the MRI project,” says Monica Kellogg, GRMC radiology technologist. “The new MRI magnet will benefit our staff, our physicians, but most importantly our patients. Keeping up with current technology is another way of providing great patient care.”

Iowa Radiology provides radiology physicians to GRMC for diagnostic imaging services for physicians and healthcare providers.

“Our organization is proud to be in Grinnell and to partner with the Ahrens Charitable Trust to provide these matching funds for the new MRI,” says Rick Portel, chief operating officer of Iowa Radiology.

Remodeling is underway on an area inside the hospital to accommodate a new, permanent MRI and to create the specialized construction needed to house the sensitive equipment. The new unit is scheduled to be operational by mid-January.

“GRMC is truly a community hospital and projects like this reinforce the importance of this medical center to our area,” says Todd C. Linden, GRMC president and CEO. “This is important to keeping needed medical services here in Grinnell. We are grateful to the community, to Iowa Radiology, and the Claude W. Ahrens Charitable Trust for their generous support.”

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.