The medical community in Bladen County came out to celebrate the official ribbon cutting for a new and improved medical facility that will help provide a pivotal service to meet the community’s healthcare needs. 

Cape Fear Valley Bladen County Hospital held a ribbon cutting for a new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) facility at the hospital at 507 Doctor’s Drive in Elizabethtown.

This is the first permanent MRI machine for the hospital. MRIs are used for a variety of medical imaging exams to create detailed images of the organs, tissues and bones in a person’s body.

Previously, patients relied on a mobile MRI truck that would come to the area twice a week, however current leaders shared that current demand exceeds that availability. 

“Today marks  a significant milestone for our hospital and Elizabethtown community, as we officially open our first permanent MRI facility in the county,” shared President of Bladen County Hospital Spencer Cumming. “...with this new facility, we can now provide MRI imaging on-site; thereby, reducing wait times, and eliminating the need for patients to travel elsewhere for this critical diagnostic service.” 

The MRI machine is a Siemens Magnetom Altea capable of holding patients up to 550 lbs. It uses a 1.5 Tesla (T) magnet and a 70 cm open bore design.

“This MRI machine’s new technology also means that a patient’s MRI scan can be completed faster,” Cummings said. “We’re so excited to bring this to the community and expand this service.”

The new MRI facility is located in what was previously known (and will continue to be known) as the Phillips Internal Medicine building located behind the main hospital, which Cape Fear Valley purchased in 2023. The building was utilized by Dr. Bruce A. Phillips Jr. for his private practice Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. 

“Some folks in the community got together as a group to recruit doctors in the community, and they built this as a SPEC building. And then when my husband and I came here, we finished it off and furnished it and it was the center of his practice for almost 40 years,” shared previous owner of the building Nancy Phillips. “I'm just so happy to see this as something of the legacy of my husband's practice here, and then the ongoing use of this building for a medical purpose that has served the people in this community. I'm just so proud of that.” 

Other speakers at the celebratory event included Sabina Brooks, VP of the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation, Anthony Brisson, manager of radiology at the MRI facility and Jeane’ Pop, foundation gifts officer for the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation. A live stream of the ceremony can be found on the Cape Fear Valley Health Facebook page here.