Floyd County Medical Center installs permanent local MRI machine

To The Press

Patients will no longer need to leave Floyd County for MRI scans.

Floyd County Medical Center has upgraded its magnetic resonance imaging capabilities, and is now able to offer full-service scans on site for patients.

FCMC’s upgrade comes in the form of a new Philips Intera 1.5 Tesla MRI machine parked permanently at the medical center, which allows the medical center’s staff to take scans of patients at the ready.

“With the addition of regular MRI services, FCMC is bringing health care closer to home, which is comforting to patients,” said MRI Technician Katie Baxter.

MRI is a non-invasive technique for health care providers to examine organs, tissues and skeletal systems, making it a useful tool in diagnosing a variety of problems. It uses magnetic fields and radio waves, rather than the ionizing radiation used in CT scans or Xrays.

“By having the MRI in house full-time gives patients quicker results and the ability to plan necessary next steps,” said FCMC Radiology Manager Wendy Burke.

Before the addition of a full-time MRI machine, patients often had to wait for an appointment or seek a scan elsewhere, forcing them to travel to another facility and wait longer for results to come back.

Now, patients can eliminate the time and costs involved in traveling to distant facilities, and scan results are available for review with a patient and their local provider in less time.

The move comes as part of FCMC’s efforts to improve and grow its offerings, and make finding quality health care more convenient for residents in the Floyd County area, said Mike Anderson, FCMC CFO/Interim CEO.

“We are looking to expand on important services like MRI, as patients are wanting to stay local for their care,” Anderson said. “Offering our community the ability to save time and be cared for close to home is our priority at FCMC.”