How Three Community Hospitals Got the Imaging Technology Their Patients Deserved
For patients in rural communities, getting a CT scan, an MRI, or a mammogram has never been simple. It means clearing your schedule, arranging a ride, and driving past your own hospital to reach one that has the radiology equipment you need.
That is starting to change.
According to an April 2026 American Hospital Association report on rural radiology, rural communities are falling behind when it comes to imaging services. These hospitals are dealing with reduced services, staffing shortages, and equipment that can’t keep up with what their patients need.
But across BMI’s customer base, a different story is emerging. Community hospitals have a mission to serve their patients. They’re looking for a partner willing to find a solution that fits both the clinical need and the budget reality. Fortunately, they are closing that gap one imaging upgrade at a time.
Here are three examples of what that looks like:
1. Scott County Hospital: Advanced CT Technology — With Eyes on It 24/7
Scott County Hospital installed the Fujifilm SCENARIA View 128 CT system through BMI. They weren’t just upgrading their imaging capability, they were making a statement about the kind of care their community deserves. They wanted to provide precise, in-depth diagnostic imaging available right at home, without a long drive to a larger city.
But advanced equipment is only valuable when it stays up and running. That’s where BMI’s remote proactive monitoring made the difference. For Heather Wren, Imaging Manager at Scott County Hospital, knowing that BMI has eyes on the system around the clock changed what it means to manage imaging in a rural setting.
“They offer the remote monitoring, which is crucial for us rural hospitals,” Wren said. “So when something does go awry, they’re alerted immediately. And sometimes they can actually catch it before the technologist even notices that something isn’t quite right.”
2. Massac Memorial Hospital: MRI That Rivals Anybody in the Region
Massac Memorial Hospital in Metropolis, Illinois, had an ambitious goal for a community facility. They wanted to install an MRI system that could stand alongside anything available at a large urban medical center. Plus, they wanted to back it with service that never leaves the hospital without imaging capability.
BMI delivered on both counts. The Velocity OASIS open MRI gave Massac Memorial’s patients a comfortable, high-quality imaging experience that eliminated the need to travel for MRI care. And the service model BMI put in place gave the hospital something just as valuable: confidence that they would never be left without options.
“We have the newest technology,” said Jonathan Walters, Chief Medical Officer at Massac Memorial Hospital. “We have an MRI that can rival anybody in the region. And having that type of care in your backyard means that you’re getting the care that you need without having to travel.”
3. Orange City Area Health System: Smarter Technology at Half the Cost
Orange City Area Health System had a clear mission: bring the kind of advanced imaging their patients would find at a large hospital directly to their community without the big price tag. When it came time to replace their aging fluoroscopy system, they found a smarter solution with BMI: the Konica Minolta DDR system.
DDR delivers the same live-action diagnostic capability as traditional fluoroscopy — a continuous, real-time picture of what’s happening inside the body — but with lower radiation doses and at a significantly lower cost. For Orange City, the savings were immediate and meaningful.
“To replace a fluoroscopy machine, the cost is double what we purchased this machine for,” said Jennifer Campbell, RT(R)(M)(CT), Imaging Department Manager at Orange City Area Health System. “That definitely helps our patients — saving them miles on the road, a day away from work. It just made sense.”
Reconditioned Equipment: The Budget Solution That Makes It Possible
Rural hospitals rarely have big-city budgets. And one of the most persistent myths in medical imaging is that advanced technology requires a large capital investment. The right partner changes that equation entirely.
Fully reconditioned medical imaging equipment has allowed community hospitals across the country to deploy technology that rivals what larger facilities offer, at a fraction of the cost.
Kasyn Hendrix, Radiology Supervisor at Lane County Hospital, described what the decision looked like for her facility.
“Reconditioned equipment was more cost-effective for our facility,” Hendrix said. “Over a $100,000 difference. It was drastic. It looked brand new to us, but I figured there’d be scratches and wear and tear from another facility using it, and there wasn’t.”
A six-figure difference in cost is not a minor consideration. Facilities can redirect those savings toward staffing, infrastructure, or additional equipment that further expands the services they offer their patients.
At BMI, every fully reconditioned system goes through a documented 240-labor-hour process — governed by ISO 13485:2016 certification — that restores equipment to like-new clinical performance standards. BMI holds every reconditioned system to the same standards as new — which is exactly how it performs.
Service in Rural Settings: Why It Matters More
Choosing the right imaging equipment is only half of the equation. For rural hospitals, the service model behind that equipment may matter even more.
When an imaging system goes down at a large urban medical center, there are often backup options nearby — another facility, another machine, another department. When an imaging system goes down at a rural community hospital, the consequences are immediate and direct: patients waiting, schedules backed up, and in some cases, care that simply cannot be delivered locally.
BMI’s remote proactive monitoring continuously tracks system performance across all modalities, identifying early warning signs and allowing maintenance to be scheduled at a time that causes the least disruption to patient care. Combined with more than 150 local field service engineers located strategically close to customer facilities, BMI’s service model is built around the reality that downtime in a rural hospital is not just an inconvenience — it is a patient care issue.
And when something does need attention, there is no navigating multiple vendors or tracking down the right contact. One call. One partner. Every modality, every brand.
What to Look for in a Medical Imaging Partner for Your Rural Hospital
If your facility is evaluating imaging equipment and considering a partnership to support it, here are the questions that matter most:
- Can they match the technology to your budget? The best rural imaging partners offer both new and fully reconditioned options — giving you the flexibility to match technology level to capital budget without sacrificing clinical performance.
- Do they offer remote monitoring? For rural facilities where downtime has immediate patient impact, remote proactive monitoring is not optional. It is essential.
- How fast can they respond on-site? Ask about the location of service engineers relative to your facility. A partner with local engineers strategically positioned near your hospital will always outperform one that dispatches from a centralized location.
- Can they service all of your equipment? A multi-vendor service partner who handles all of your modalities under one service relationship eliminates the complexity of managing multiple contracts and multiple contacts, a significant operational advantage for smaller facilities with lean administrative teams.
- Do they understand rural healthcare? A partner who has worked with community hospitals, understands the budget realities, and knows the stakes of downtime in a rural setting is a fundamentally different kind of partner than one who primarily serves large urban systems.
Let’s talk about what’s possible.
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