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Thomas Medical Center received notification from state health officials last week that they have permission to purchase one of two fixed MRIs recently approved. Thomasville Medical Center was one of five area hospitals who submitted an application earlier this summer. In addition to TMC, the certificate of need was also granted to Randolph County Hospital in Asheboro. The unit, which costs between $2.5 3 million, will be purchased by the medical center. The certificate of need from the state only grants approval for the unit to be purchased.

Although TMC has offered a mobile MRI unit on a limited schedule to the community since 1998, just this week a new schedule provides the MRI service Monday Friday from 8:30 5:00 PM. The mobile unit will continue this expanded schedule until construction for the new fixed unit is completed. When the fixed unit is complete, the MRI service will be able to patients if a need arises, 24 hours a day 7 days a week

In the last three years, the need for the service has continued to grow as radiologists utilize MRI as an important medical diagnostic tool. In conjunction with the latest high speed CT scanning, MRI has become the foundation of rapid and accurate assessments of illness. The strength of MRI that the images of a body section does not require x-rays and its ability to differentiate soft tissue structures and blood vessel flow. The most visible applications of MRI in recent years are in evaluation of the brain and spinal cord as well as muscles and joints. MRI is also useful in evaluating certain processes affecting the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts and pancreas and in assessment of kidney masses, bone marrow and certain types of pelvic disease. Functional MRI is an asset in early evaluation of stroke and assessment of seizure patients. It also has application in assessing brain tumors and multiple sclerosis. The most modern equipment can evaluate the coronary arteries, blood flow to the heart muscle and the function of the heart.

The magnet in the MRI is a 1.5 Tesla, which is currently the most powerful and fastest diagnostic machine available. We are opting to provide the 1.5 Tesla versus the open unit that some facilities select, said Dr. Michael Broder, Chief of Radiology at Thomasville Medical Center, because this provides the most comprehensive study. The size of the magnet for the MRI has been proven to directly mirror the speed and accuracy. The 1.5 Tesla magnet provides a faster, more powerful and accurate sequence of images to be used to further diagnose and treat patients. The 1.5 Tesla magnet is state of the art. TMC is committed to providing the best medical care available to the communities we serve.

TMC had tremendous support from area physicians and community members for the application, and we want to thank all those individuals that took time to send a letter of support for Thomasville Medical Centers certificate of need application said Tom Pogue, Vice President. More than 2500 letters were submitted with the application that was presented to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The stacks of letters alone were a powerful message for our application said Pogue. We know there is a medical need for TMC to have a fixed MRI versus the mobile unit that is shared with other facilities. To have the community we serve rally to the need, as well, was fantastic to show a true community need and support for service available in our community. We believe the need is great enough that we were prepared to begin the application process for the fourth opportunity if this application process was not successful. We are pleased that the state recognized our need.