NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, City Council Speaker Johnson, and Council Member Diana Ayala Secure Funding for Critical MRI Equipment
The $3.75M capital allocation will purchase a state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging system, which will enhance patient experience, reduce wait times, and ensure faster examinations. Upgrades build on the public health system's focus to increase access to high-quality care for all New Yorkers
Dec 16, 2019
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan CEO Alina Moran, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Council Member Diana Ayala today announced plans to improve access to care, experience and comfort for patients with new, upgraded radiology equipment. Council Member Ayala helped secure $3,750,000 capital for the upgrades. The Council allocation will fund a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system and modular building for inpatient and outpatient use. The new, state-of-the-art equipment will enhance patient experience, ensure shorter wait times and faster examinations. The upgrades to radiology equipment builds on the public health system’s focus to increase access to high-quality care for all New Yorkers.
“Our patients deserve the most innovative systems and solutions to detect and monitor disease at its earliest possible stages and manage overall patient care,” said Alina Moran, Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. “This level of capital investment from the City Council will allow us to provide an even better care experience, with shorter wait times, and faster examinations for more patients.”
“New Yorkers deserve the best health care possible. With the City Council’s $3.75 million allocation to buy a new, state-of-the-art MRI system, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan patients will continue to receive high-quality medical care. The new system will allow the hospital to expand its radiology services, which will lead to reduced waiting times for patients and faster, more comfortable, examinations. I want to thank Council Member Diana Ayala for her leadership and tireless efforts to secure this funding for her constituents and all New Yorkers,” said New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan is an essential piece of East Harlem’s fabric, as it provides our community with high-quality, culturally-competent, and comprehensive healthcare,” said Council Member Diana Ayala. “I am beyond proud to have worked with Speaker Corey Johnson to secure $3.75 million in capital funding to upgrade the hospital’s MRI system, which will result in improved radiology services. This investment contributes to the hospital’s sustainability and will allow it to continue caring for its patients with innovative, solution-oriented technology.”
The City Council allocation will provide funding for new state-of-the-art equipment to be housed in a new MRI suite that will enhance patient experience, and provide for shorter wait times, and faster examinations. The suite, to be located in a new prefabricated modular building that will be connected to the hospital’s main building, will allow seamless access for patients needing the services. The larger suite will make it possible to perform scans on pediatric patients and patients who are sedated or on ventilators, all of which often require space for additional clinical staff. Unlike before, these patients would not need to be transferred to other facilities for imaging, and can instead be scanned onsite.
The features of the new wide-bore MRI scanner include a larger 70 cm opening, to alleviate feelings of claustrophobia that some patients report when undergoing scans. The new equipment also allows radiologists to perform MRIs to diagnose stroke more quickly and accurately in time-sensitive clinical situations.
The equipment’s quicker scan time also improves flow and increases patient volumes/access by using artificial intelligence and auto-scan to decrease image time. The machine improves scan times by approximately 40 percent. By decreasing scan times, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan will be able to expand access to radiology services to patients in the community.
For information about Radiology services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, or to schedule an appointment, please visit nychealthandhospitals.org/metropolitan call 212-423-6262.