By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
A joyous atmosphere filled the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 2 as dignitaries, business owners and citizens gathered at Castleview Hospital to unveil the newest piece of diagnostic technology in the area: a state-of-the-art MRI machine. To celebrate the occasion, the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce provided a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Requiring months of demolition and construction, the new machine is flashier, quieter, and most importantly, more comfortable for patients.
“We are so excited about this day. It is something we have been working on for quite some time, and we have a brand-new MRI machine here, and it’s already been put to use,” said Castleview CEO Mark Holyoak. “This machine is the best that you can find anywhere, not only in the state of Utah, but even regionally. And so, we are so excited to have this technology here that provides exceptional care to the community.”
The new machine features several quality-of-life upgrades from its previous iteration. This includes a new sound system, allowing patients to listen to their own music, color-adjusting lights and a privacy window feature. Additionally, the hospital opted for a noise reduction package on the machine – a feature which Holyoak previously stated made the noise “almost nonexistent”.
Also speaking at the event was Imaging Director Cindy Rowley, who said of the machine,” We’ve been waiting for this for a long time, so we’re super excited.”
She continued,” It is super comfortable. We’ve got flexible coils. We can put a bigger weight on the table. We’ve got a larger bore and better patient comfort, so we’re super excited.”
Holyoak added,” Because we’re kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we can now do breast images on this new MRI machine, which is something we were not able to do in the past. Most hospitals in the state do not have that capability. We have that, and it can be done right here.”
Rowley then snapped the scissors, cutting the ribbon and officially christening the new machine.
Watch the ribbon-cutting here: