NEMHS Adds Mobile MRI Services

Starting August 27, 2024, mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) services are available on a bi-weekly basis at Poplar Community Hospital. This service is the first of its kind for this area.

An MRI is a non-invasive imaging technology that creates very detailed,
three-dimensional images of the skeleton, organs and body tissues. MRIs are frequently used to detect and diagnose disease and monitor treatments.

The mobile MRI service is provided in collaboration with Monida Shared Imaging, a company that operates three, state-of-the-art MRI trucks in the state. The service is a huge benefit to rural communities and patients who would otherwise need to travel to larger healthcare centers to have an MRI. Though it looks like an ordinary semi-truck and trailer on the outside, it contains a full-size MRI scanner, an office and a patient changing room. The trailer is also equipped with a hydraulic lift platform that raises and lowers patients safely from the ground to the trailer entrance.

Talea Harrell, RTR, CT, MR has been an MRI Tech since 2017 and currently travels with the truck to small communities in Eastern Montana.

“We’re getting better images to doctors with quicker scan times and we’re eliminating the need for patients to travel,” Talea explained. “Patients also enjoy this machine because it has a wider board to lay on, providing more room and comfort.”

The mobile MRI service allows patients to get the imaging they need more efficiently and conveniently while avoiding costly travel expenses. NEMHS added this service in response to the demand for additional services within the communities it serves.