The hospital hopes to scan up to 10 patients each Saturday in the mobile unit, once the program is in full swing. | Photos courtesy of SoHum Health.###Jerold Phelps Community Hospital began offering outpatient MRIs for the first time last month, allowing patients to ditch lengthy drives and get imaging done closer to home.
Before, patients across the expanse of hilly, rural land that surrounds Garberville had to drive great distances to get outpatient imaging done, with hospitals in Eureka or Willits offering the nearest magnetic resonance imaging service. Folks in Shelter Cove drive about 2 hours each way to reach Providence St. Joseph in Eureka.
“We’re in a very vast, rural and isolated kind of environment. Anything we can do to bring things closer to home for people, we try to do that,” said Chelsea Brown, outreach manager & foundation director for the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District.
Appointments are now available once a week on Saturdays. The machine is housed in a shiny white mobile unit, parked near the hospital’s emergency department.
This new service particularly helps people who need joint imaging, spinal cord imaging, or other soft tissue imaging most, according to Radiology Director Lora Simone.About 15 people have had MRIs since opening day July 11, and hospital staff say patients are happy to have it nearby. The health district chose Saturdays to allow full time workers to get appointments.
The service is through a permanent partnership with Heritage Imaging, which was founded to bring imaging to rural and remote areas.
“It is really great to let rural hospitals that maybe wouldn’t have the funds to purchase their own machine — or the demand to need one on site full time,” said Brown. A similar trailer-MRI setup would otherwise cost SoHum Health roughly $2 million. Plus, the district is “busting at the seams” of the aging hospital, with limited indoor space.The long-term plan is to add MRI equipment to the new SoHum Health hospital and clinic. The district hopes to break ground on the ambitious $100 million project next year, and is waiting for a building permit while navigating funding challenges around healthcare cuts in 2025’s H.R. 1.Brown noted that folks from elsewhere can have their referrals sent to Garberville, too, if they want an earlier appointment and don’t mind the commute. The department tends to have more appointment availability due to lower population, she said.
“We’re really proud to be advancing our technology and being able to be a better resource for patients, and anyone who wants to come to our little hospital. We’re small but mighty!” she said.The expansion into MRIs adds to a diagnostic imaging lineup at Jerold Phelps that includes advanced X-ray, CT, ultrasound and 3D mammograms.According to a SoHum Health press release, the hospital-grade equipment uses Subtle AI for ultra-clear imaging, offers shorter scan times, can do almost any MRI exam with and without contrast (except cardiac), and the reports are delivered within 24 hours.Referring offices can fax MRI orders directly to (707) 923-3902 or call (707) 923-3921 for more information.