Samaritan builds imaging center

Foundation raising funds for bone scanning equipment

MOSES LAKE - Digital mammography services will be offered in a new Women's Imaging Center at Samaritan Healthcare this month.

The hospital foundation met its fund-raising goal of raising about $401,000 for equipment and renovations, said foundation Executive Director Dave Campbell.

The target date for offering the service is Nov. 24.

Mammography services are being relocated from Pioneer Medical Center to Samaritan Healthcare, located at 801 E. Wheeler Rd. in Moses Lake.

A space at the hospital formerly used by Inland Northwest Blood Center is being transformed into a Women's Imaging Center.

"We're looking at various options (for the Pioneer space) but we don't have a definite plan for it," said Samaritan Healthcare Vice President of Planning, Development and Marketing Scott Campbell.

The total cost of the project was about $501,000, Dave Campbell said. The foundation contributed $100,000, leaving a fund-raising goal of $401,000.

Dave Campbell said digital mammography is more efficient in detecting cancer than film-based mammography. He compared it to the difference between film and digital photography.

"You can change the contrast, you can manipulate, crop it," Dave Campbell said.

The technology is standard for hospitals in larger cities, he said, noting it is great to offer the same technology in a smaller town.

M.J. Murdoch Charitable Trust was the single largest contributor to the project, donating $125,000, Dave Campbell said.

He said 219 individuals contributed $54,000 toward the project. Special events, including two golf tournaments and a dinner, raised $40,500.

"Every dollar counts, and it's certainly very much appreciated," Dave Campbell said.

In the future, the hospital plans to offer a Hologic Discovery Bone Dexometer unit and a Hologic Sahara Heel Sonometer unit in the Women's Imaging Center.

According to Dave Campbell, the equipment can scan for osteoporosis and bone mineral density. Moses Lake Clinic currently offers a similar service, Dave Campbell said.

"We're looking forward to actually being able to provide that service in the hospital," he said.

The foundation is raising $110,000 for the project, with the hopes of offering the service around July, Dave Campbell said.

For more information or to contribute to the project, call Samaritan Healthcare Foundation at 509-764-2904.