Eastern Plumas Health Care reports that weekly magnetic resonance imaging services are now available at the hospital in Portola, thanks to a collaborative effort including four other rural hospitals.
Because the cost of a fixed MRI system would be prohibitive, the hospitals formed a partnership to share a mobile MRI unit that travels among their locations and provides services to rural patients. With this mobile service, patients who otherwise would have to travel outside the community now have access locally. The other hospitals in the partnership are Plumas District Hospital in Quincy, Seneca Healthcare District in Chester, Modoc Medical Center in Alturas and Mayers Memorial Hospital District in Fall River Mills.
Until the collaborative effort, it took about a year for EPHC to be able to provide these services — it was simply too difficult to find a mobile MRI company willing to service just one rural hospital, said EPHC. The new company, Heritage Imaging, provides fully staffed MRI solutions that provide patients with MRI imaging and help medical providers with the diagnostic information needed for more efficient care.
To receive MRI services, patients check in at the clinic or hospital just as they do for all appointments and procedures, and the technologists at Heritage Imaging run their scans.
The MRI schedule at EPHC is available every Monday, with an additional Tuesday on the second week of the month. Those interested in scheduling an MRI appointment or learning more about MRI services can call the radiology department at 530-832-6516.
