St. Anthony’s begins work on imaging center

Samantha Newburn

EFFINGHAM — St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital has begun construction on its Center for Advanced Imaging.

The center, which will house the nuclear medicine department, is taking the place of the heart and cardiology department. That department is now housed in the newly constructed Prairie Heart Institute wing. The imaging center will be across the hall from the emergency department on the east side, which will allow emergency personnel easier access during crucial moments.

The hospital currently has a nuclear medicine department, which is on the northeast side of the renovated section, but its equipment is spread throughout the hospital. The new section also will give the patients more privacy with extra dressing rooms and will give families a more comfortable atmosphere with more waiting rooms, including a waiting room for children.

The biggest additions to the center include a new in-house MRI unit and a 64-slice CT scanner. The hospital currently has one MRI stationed outside the building on a movable trailer and a second unit that travels to the hospital three times a week. Because the machine takes up so much energy with its intense magnetic fields and its supporting equipment, the hospital doesn’t have enough free space to house the machine.

“This will be more convenient for the patients, so they don’t have to be carted around,” said Dan Woods, hospital president and chief executive officer.

Once the renovated center is completed, it will have a new MRI unit. If the hospital needs a second unit because of the number of patients and their needs, a second unit will be considered with its location determined at that time.

A large portion of the center will house the MRI because the machine and its equipment take up so much space. Woods said the MRI has such intense magnetic fields and involves so many controls, renovation for that section of the department has been the most important.

“Right above us is the surgery department, so it’s important it doesn’t interfere with anything else in the building,” Woods said.

The new CT scanner also is a large addition to the renovated department. The hospital currently has two scanners. One is located in the radiology department and the other is outside on a movable trailer, which is used during high-volume times. The new 64-slice CT scanner will be in the renovated imaging center, along with the hospital’s current 16-slice scanner.

Instead of single X-rays of separate pictures of the body, the scanner can take a single picture of the entire body, and the more slices the scanner has, the more detailed the images will be.

Woods compared the machine to an apple slicer, with each slice containing more detail. He said the detailed images will help examine tumors or fractures more closely, and doctors and technicians can look at hundreds of slices depending on what they are studying.

“It’s painless, but it doesn’t mean patients aren’t worried,” Woods said. “We want it to be comforting and convenient.”

The estimated cost for the project is $10 million, and is expected to be completed in late summer. The hospital has budgeted $6,500,000 for construction costs, and hoped the community could bring in the other $3,500,000 through the Friends Hope and Healing Campaign.

The Campaign committee consists of local residents and doctors. Tom Wright, chairperson for the committee, said the campaign is currently at $2 million. The committee has been giving presentations about the effort to local businesses and civic groups, and Wright is happy with the amount raised so far.

“Effingham has been generous,” Wright said.

He is hopeful the committee can raise enough funds to complete the project, and Woods said the project has been tweaked to accommodate costs.

“We’ve gotten better pricing, but the project has not gotten smaller,” Woods said.

Both Wright and Woods feel the renovated department will expand the hospital’s health care options and will provide a more adequate and comfortable hospital experience.

“People come here for health care, and we want to give them the best we can,” Woods said.

Samantha Newburn may be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or samantha.newburn@effinghamdailynews.com

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