RAVENNA − Residents of the Portage County area can get treatment for conditions such as heart disease, cancer and bone disorders closer to home now that University Hospitals Portage Medical Center 's Nuclear Medicine department has opened.
Brian Adams, director of operations and clinical services at UH Portage, said about $750,000 worth of equipment was gifted to the hospital when another UH facility closed. The Portage Medical Center Foundation pledged nearly $1 million over two years for upgrades to the hospital that were necessary to bring the scanner to Ravenna.
The first scans will be offered at the hospital starting Monday.
Dr. Edward Bury, chair of UH Portage Medical Center's Radiology Department, said the equipment provides a clearer picture of how organs function, something that can't be done through traditional CT scans.
Bury said nuclear medicine involves putting a trace of radiation into organs, which gives more detailed pictures.
"It allows us to get much better images," he said, adding the images can target such issues as heart conditions, cancer and parathyroid conditions.
"What this allows us to do is keep our patients here," he said.
Dr. Saneka Chakravarty, a cardiologist at UH Portage, said before receiving the equipment, patients who can't travel to other hospitals for testing have been forced to lie in uncomfortable positions for scans.
"I think this is going to be a great addition," she said. "It just adds to the specificity of the test."
Shawn Gordon, executive director of the Portage Medical Center Foundation, said the request was "probably the easiest ask we ever made," with the board readily agreeing to do whatever it took to bring the equipment to Portage County. Over the past six years, Gordon said, the foundation has distributed $6.34 million in grants, and raised $16.4 million.
UH Portage also has completed renovations to its Breast Health Center and a Cardiac Catheterization and Electrophysiology Department over the past year.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Nuclear medicine equipment comes to UH Portage Medical Center in Ravenna
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