Sharon Regional announces $9 million major expansion project in Hermitage

April 2006

New Diagnostic & Imaging Center to be constructed in the Sharon Regional Medical Park

Sharon Regional has announced plans to construct a $9 million, 30,000 square foot Diagnostic and Imaging Center at the corner of North Kerrwood Drive and Garden Way in the Sharon Regional Medical Park in Hermitage. The center will replace the Hermitage HealthPLACE on Highland Road, and will offer the most technologically-advanced diagnostic testing and imaging services available, in addition to dedicated areas for women's health services and health education.

The new Diagnostic and Imaging Center is designed to bring all of the most common medical diagnostic tests into one convenient center, with plenty of free parking, to minimize the time patients spend in having these tests completed. Patient and physician convenience will be enhanced due to the center's location adjacent to a number of primary care and specialty physician offices. Patients who prefer to have their tests done at the hospital will still have the option to do so.

The full-service imaging services planned for the center will be anchored by a high strength/high resolution 1.0 Tesla Open MRI, that due to its large degree of openness, instantly puts all patients at ease - including elderly, frail, anxious, claustrophobic, or pediatric patients. The unit's 360-degree panoramic viewing angle allows patients to always see outside the magnet during examinations, eliminating any claustrophobic effects.

Other imaging services will include a 64-slice CT Scanner, screening and diagnostic mammography (featuring the latest in digital mammography), DEXA bone density scans, ultrasound, and general diagnostic x-ray. A radiologist will be based at the center to provide a prompt turnaround of test results and for patient consultations. A docking port will be a permanent part of the new center, which will allow mobile versions of the newest imaging technologies to be offered. Diagnostic services will include comprehensive laboratory draw services and EKG tests.

One of the highlights of the new Diagnostic and Imaging Center is the Women's Pavilion, a dedicated area of the center that will focus on those diagnostic and imaging procedures specifically related to women. The area features separate waiting and changing areas, along with dedicated imaging areas for mammography, ultrasound, and physician consultation. In addition, Sharon Regional's Breast Care Center, currently based at the hospital, will move into the Women's Pavilion when completed.

A large educational conference center within the new facility can be divided into two rooms when needed, and will provide ample space for the ongoing health education programs and screenings, physician presentations, support groups, community meetings, and other activities that are core component of the Hermitage HealthPLACE.

Wayne Johnston, president and CEO of Sharon Regional, emphasized the benefits that the community will receive.

"Sharon Regional's new Diagnostic and Imaging Center was designed with one goal - to provide the community with convenient access to the newest and most technologically-advanced diagnostic and imaging services available," Johnston stated. "In addition, we've placed a special emphasis on women's diagnostic and imaging services along with continuing our commitment to provide comprehensive health education services to the community," Johnston concluded.

The new Diagnostic and Imaging Center will become part of the growing Sharon Regional Medical Park in Hermitage, which also includes the Advanced Wound Recovery Center; Behavioral Health Services Outpatient Center; Cancer Care Center; Corporate Health Services; Diabetes Center; Highland Hand and Joint Center; Hospice/Palliative Care Program; Lung Center, and Rehab Center.

Construction of the new center is expected to begin this summer and is projected to take nine-12 months.