High Quality, Low Cost MRI Services.
Today, Winchester Hospital and Shields Health Care Group announced that they are partnering to provide the highest quality MRI services for an exceptional value at the brand new Winchester Hospital Outpatient Center at 200 Unicorn Park in Woburn. The state-of-the-art MRI suite features two new, wide-open bore MRI scanners – a Siemens 1.5T magnet and a Siemens 3T magnet. Patients can expect to save approximately $1,000 or more at the new facility compared to MRIs conducted by academic medical imaging centers in Boston.
The new 3T technology is the most advanced MRI scanner available for clinical use today and provides patients and physicians with the finest level of detail and clear, vivid images for better patient diagnoses and outcomes. The technology is twice as powerful as the standard 1.5T scanner and is ideal for neurological, musculoskeletal, vascular and breast imaging. The “wide bore” 1.5T and 3.0T scanners both improve the patient experience, providing the maximum comfort available to decrease feelings of claustrophobia and creating ample room for limbs or larger patients.
Since 2007, Winchester Hospital and Shields have partnered to provide radiation oncology services to patients at the Winchester Hospital Center for Cancer Care. This new MRI collaboration is a testament to the partnership’s ability to deliver extraordinary value to patients through excellent patient care at lower costs even in the rapidly changing healthcare marketplace.
The new MRI center is expected to serve approximately 1,000 patients throughout Boston and the Greater Boston area each month and also offers arthrograms and breast MRI services, including mammography and biopsy.
“We’re excited to expand on an already successful relationship with Shields Health Care Group, now providing our patients and physicians with the highest quality MRI services using the latest technology,” said Kevin Smith, President and CEO of Winchester Hospital.
“Shields is the leading provider of MRI imaging services in Massachusetts and we’re proud that Winchester Hospital chose to expand their partnership with us for their MRI needs,” added Tom Shields Jr., President of Shields Health Care Group. “Shields Health Care Group integrates seamlessly into partnering organizations, providing outstanding patient care at lower costs and sophisticated back-end solutions that allow partners to remain focused on their own core services.”
The new Unicorn Park facility is located just off of Interstate 93 and is minutes from Winchester Hospital’s main campus, providing a convenient option for Winchester and greater Boston communities. Shields will manage all daily MRI operations, staffing and scheduling at the Woburn location while Winchester Hospital radiologists will read and interpret the scans. Winchester Hospital will no longer offer MRI services at Baldwin Park II and Presidential Way, both located in Woburn.
The joint venture partnership with Shields Health Care Group was finalized on August 18, 2013 and patients have been billed through Shields MRI since that time.
About Winchester Hospital
Winchester Hospital is the first hospital in Massachusetts to earn Magnet recognition, the American Nurses Association’s highest honor for nursing excellence, three times. As the northwest suburban Boston area’s leading provider of comprehensive health care services, the 229-bed facility provides care in general, bariatric and vascular surgery, orthopedics, pediatrics, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, oncology, gastroenterology, rehabilitation, radiation oncology, pain management, obstetrics/gynecology and a Level IIB Special Care Nursery. Winchester Hospital has clinical affiliations with several nationally recognized hospitals in the region, including Boston Children’s Hospital, Tufts Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. To learn more, visit www.winchesterhospital.org.
About Shields Health Care Group
Shields Health Care Group is a family-owned business and was New England’s first independent MRI provider 25 years ago. Today, Shields has more than 25 locations, all ACR accredited, throughout Massachusetts and strong partnerships with some of the top healthcare and technology providers in the country. Shields provides a diverse offering of MRI, Radiation Oncology, and PET/CT Imaging as well as ProCare support services. It is the Shields focus, experience, and commitment that have helped the company grow to be the largest and most technically advanced network of medical imaging and diagnostic treatment facilities in New England.
Lisa Campisi 774-328-2397
John Looney 508-862-7892