Payson Roundup

Bobby Davis/Roundup

Chief of Surgery Dr. Olivia Morris and Payson Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Chris Wolf welcomed guests to the PRMC open house Oct. 1 and shared their enthusiasm for all the new additions and improvements to the facility and the opportunities for better care they offer patients.

Bobby Davis/Roundup

Chief of Surgery Dr. Olivia Morris and Payson Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Chris Wolf welcomed guests to the PRMC open house Oct. 1 and shared their enthusiasm for all the new additions and improvements to the facility and the opportunities for better care they offer patients.

Six months ago you could not find a medical facility anywhere in the country with some of the equipment Payson Regional Medical Center now boasts.

At an open house last Thursday, the PRMC administration and staff showed off some of the latest and greatest medical equipment now available to patients.

The open house featured the new endoscopy suite where patients will now have upper and lower gastrointestinal procedures and the recovery area just for them. There was also a tour of the new pre- and post-surgical areas and for a group of 10 (selected in a drawing) a look at the revamped surgical suite with the new room added for urinary and similar procedures. The tours, conducted by both hospital department heads and staff, included the newly added room to house the massive open bore MRI equipment. Additionally tours of the updated pathology department and the outpatient imaging center with its new digital mammography equipment was offered.

Chris Wolf, chief executive officer for PRMC, said in the last 12 years the hospital has enjoyed growth and expansion unparalleled for a rural hospital in Arizona. He said more than $20 million has been spent on improvements of the plant and its equipment.

He said the hospital’s mission is to be the health care of choice in Payson and Rim Country and to deliver the best health care possible.

Wolf commended the staff of more than 300 and the volunteers who gave almost 10,000 hours of service during 2008.

“The technology is only a tool to help the hospital’s dedicated staff to get the job done,” Mayor Kenny Evans said.

Evans added when businesses come to the area to investigate relocating or expanding, there are always two questions asked about amenities: the first is about the availability of higher education opportunities and the second is about the hospital.

Dr. John VanDruff and Dr. Olivia Morris also spoke at the open house ceremonies. VanDruff said PRMC now has two top of the line CAT scanners and an MRI that rivals those available at the Mayo Clinic.

“I feel blessed to be affiliated with this new surgical center,” Morris said. It puts the ophthalmology and orthopedics services on the cutting edge.

She added PRMC has a resident pathologist now and the equipment to use telepathology technology and tap the resources at the University of Arizona Medical Center, all of which greatly enhance the services the hospital can provide.