Member News Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 18, 2006
Prairie Diagnostic Center in Springfield to Open in August
The Prairie Diagnostic Center, a two-story, 27,800-square-foot
facility devoted to heart and vascular care at 401 E. Carpenter (corner
of 5th & Carpenter) in Springfield, will open in August.
A media “walk-through” featuring equipment and demonstrations will
be held Monday, July 31, at 1:00 p. m. An open house for the public is
scheduled for Tuesday, August 1, from 4:00 - 7:00 p. m.
Prairie Diagnostic Center (PDC) provides conveniently located,
same-day, outpatient care and treatment for diagnostic cardiac
catheterizations. PDC development was led by the doctors of Prairie
Cardiovascular and involving Memorial Medical Center and St. John’s
Hospital. The .2 million structure serves as the cornerstone of the
Springfield Medical District.
“PDC alleviates the increasing pressure placed on Springfield
hospitals’ cardiac catheterization labs by technology improvements such
as coated stents and the associated demand for those services,” said
Jim Zito, executive director of PDC. “Outpatient, elective diagnostic
procedures often take a back-seat to more involved procedures. This
sometimes results in the outpatient procedures being ‘bumped.’ Long
waits in hospital waiting rooms are unacceptable so we constructed a
facility ensuring that we take care of patients within the timeframe we
promise.”
PDC offers several advantages to heart and vascular care in Springfield and central Illinois:
- 64-slice CT scanner specializing in 3-D imaging of the heart and vascular system.
- Electronically linked to Memorial Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital allowing immediate access to medical records and diagnostic images. Ensures access to existing information and enhances efficiency and accuracy.
- Allows hospital cath labs to focus valuable resources on the most critical casesrequiring therapeutic interventions such as stent placement or surgery.
- Ensures that diagnostic cases will not be delayed by the need to insert emergency procedures.
- Provides a convenient facility for uncomplicated, outpatient diagnostic cases.
- Provides a template for possible future areas of cooperation between the doctors of Prairie Cardiovascular, Memorial Medical Center, and St. John’s Hospital to provide cooperative improvements to heart and vascular care in Springfield and central Illinois.
“This unique partnership that brought PDC to reality shows that it’s possible for competitors to combine forces and share strengths to improve health care,” said Shelton. “This will further strengthen Springfield’s position nationally as a medical center of excellence.”