Spartanburg Regional Hospital System
MR Caring Suites puts patients in charge of the process.
Instead of telling patients to relax, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System has invested in technology that makes it more possible to do so.
MR Caring Suites – located at Regional Outpatient Services in North Grove Medical Park – utilizes innovative equipment to enhance Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), increasing diagnostic benefits while decreasing the all-too-common anxiety that accompanies the process.
“MRI is a powerful diagnostic tool,” said Brian Webb, director of imaging services at SRHS, who explained this non-invasive scan can identify problems ranging from cardiovascular disease to bone, muscle and joint issues.
“But with traditional machines, patients must lie completely still in a narrow tube for extended periods of time – it’s a claustrophobic situation that causes varying levels of distress for many of us,” Webb said.
A MR Caring Suite is a patient-centric philosophy that ensures a stress-less process that’s personalized by each individual. Patients choose their own mood-lighting, visual images and music – they can select from the Caring Suite library or bring in their own favorite movies, family photos and playlists – which are then integrated into a faster MRI procedure to minimize anxiety.
These self-selected sights and sounds combine with an imaging tube that is softer and more soothing than older models thanks to flexible foam coils, variable density foam padding and a tilt-able table. What’s more, the tubes are better lit, wider and shorter, thus minimizing claustrophobia and, in many cases, allowing for a feet-first scan.
“We have invested in patient comfort – physically and emotionally,” Webb said.
There are 17 MR Caring Suites in the entire United States and only three in South Carolina – two of them at SRHS.