BOONE, Iowa—In May, the Boone County Hospital Board of Trustees voted to move ahead with a recommendation from the hospitals Radiology team to purchase a new MRI. The price is estimated at $825,000 and will be financed through a lease agreement. That’s similar to the arrangements made when the current MRI was purchased. New technology provides more capabilities and a faster unit expected to benefit patient volume. Some of the additional costs include service and power supply expected to push the equipment cost to about $1.1 million. Last Wednesday, the Hospital Trustees received bids for the construction on the building required to removed the existing MRI equipment and then reconstruct the walls once the new equipment is installed. The low bid on the work was submitted by R.H. Grabau Construction for $286,700. Invision Architecture had estimated to work at about $325,000.

The last time the hospital upgraded it’s MRI, a portable MRI service was put in place for use while the work was being done. That is expected to be the case this time. In the meantime, planning is moving forward to get the project underway in a timely fashion.