News Release

UPMC NORTHWEST OPENS DOORS OF OPEN MRI CENTER IN RENO
$3.9 million facility allows patients to obtain open MRI exams locally
for the first time, also includes state-of-the-art CT scanner

Feb. 27, 2004 — UPMC Northwest has opened its new Open MRI Center that advances the hospital’s diagnostic capabilities and makes exams a better experience for patients.
The $3.9 million facility along Route 8 in Reno allows UPMC Northwest to offer open MRI exams for the first time – so patients can obtain these exams locally instead of traveling to an out-of-town facility – and to accommodate a sizable increase in the number of MRI and CT scans it is performing, according to radiologist Mark Salerno, MD, UPMC Northwest’s imaging department chairman.

The new outpatient center’s General Electric Signa Ovation open MRI scanner and General Electric Lightspeed 16-slice CT scanner both utilize state-of-the-art technology that makes UPMC Northwest’s imaging capabilities better than ever, says UPMC Northwest imaging services manager Dawn Cherry.

UPMC Northwest has provided standard MRI exams for many years and will continue to do so, but some patients – including some children, larger individuals and claustrophobic patients – cannot undergo a regular MRI because they can’t tolerate the close confines of the machine or don’t fit comfortably into it for an exam. For some time these patients have been referred to out-of-town open MRI facilities for their exams, but now they’ll be able to obtain them locally at UPMC Northwest’s new center in Reno, Cherry said.

The Open MRI Center’s GE Signa Ovation open MRI system offers many advantages over other open MRI systems in northwestern Pennsylvania, most notably a stronger magnet that produces better images, and the ability to perform more comfortable exams for patients. “It’s a superior diagnostic tool that significantly advances our imaging capabilities,” Dr. Salerno said.

UPMC Northwest chief executive officer Neil Todhunter agrees and says the new open MRI system “immediately will improve our ability to meet our patients’ needs. We’ll be able to provide open MRI exams for several categories of patients who we currently refer to out-of-town facilities. We also will have a facility that will enable patients to obtain open MRI and CT exams close to Oil City and Franklin,” Todhunter said.

The new facility’s GE Lightspeed 16-slice CT scanner also advances the hospital’s imaging capabilities. Dr. Salerno says the high-speed unit produces faster, sharper images and has the ability to perform a broader range of examinations than previous CT systems. Among these exams: more advanced blood vessel studies and CT examinations of the colon, which will spare some patients from undergoing standard colonoscopy exams of the bowel.

The capabilities of the open MRI and CT systems aren’t the only features of the Open MRI Center that will make appointments a better experience for patients.

There’s a driveway to drop off patients right at the front door, a 20-space parking lot next to the building, and a comfortable registration/waiting area. Patients also will benefit from the convenience of the outpatient setting because – unlike in the hospital – there won’t be any emergency scans to delay their appointments. “Convenience will be a huge benefit for patients in the new facility,” Dr. Salerno said.

Additionally, the Reno facility will offer x-rays and drawing blood for patients who need these services along with an open MRI or CT scan.

Still another distinguishing feature of the Open MRI Center, Dr. Salerno said, will be its focus on quality. Exams are performed by registered MRI and CT technologists, a board certified radiologist oversees every exam, UPMC Northwest’s six board certified radiologists interpret all exams, and the results are returned promptly to patients’ physicians. “This is contrast to other MRI facilities that employ only technologists on site, use non-radiologists to read images, or transmit images to out-of-town radiologists of unknown expertise for interpretation,” he said.

Todhunter said that in addition to better serving local patients through the Reno center, “we hope to realize the added benefit of earning referrals from other facilities in our region that don’t have open MRI capabilities.”

While opening the Reno facility, UPMC Northwest will continue to offer inpatient, outpatient and emergency imaging services in its existing hospital facilities and in the new hospital. “The presence of both hospital-based and freestanding facilities will equip us better than ever to meet the demand for high-quality imaging services in our area,” Dr. Salerno said.

The hospital will put the Open MRI Center on display for the community with an open house from 4:30 to 6:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 19. Tours, refreshments and door prizes will be part of the event.

The Open MRI Center is the first of three facilities that UPMC Northwest will open this year. The hospital is renovating the former Pennzoil Quaker State Innovation Center along Route 257 in Seneca, and several of the hospital’s non-patient care departments will move this spring into that facility known as Seneca Place. Meanwhile, construction of UPMC Northwest’s new hospital in Cranberry is about 80 percent complete, and it will open in October.