Unofficial MRI-contest votes look good for SRH
AMERICUS, Jan 03, 2008 (Americus Times Recorder - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- SI | charts | news | PowerRating -- Sumter Regional Hospital (SRH) ended on a high note in its quest for a new MRI machine, finishing the Siemens contest with approximately 260,335 votes. Grant Regional Health Center in Lancaster, Wisc., was in second with 158,595 votes, 101,000 less than SRH.
SRH expects to get the official decision from Siemens sometime in mid-January. Siemens' website instructs visitors to check back on Jan. 18.
"It was a long process, but everyone stayed committed and we feel good about our chances," said Marcus Johnson, SRH marketing & PR director. "We finished with a bang, and we look forward to hearing some good news from Siemens in a few weeks. It was a total team effort from everyone in the community, state, nation and world, and we certainly appreciate the support."
David Seagraves, SRH CEO and president, reiterated again Wednesday that the vote count is unofficial at this point but the preliminary results look good.
"We will anxiously wait for the results," Seagraves said, adding that Siemens will probably hire an independent firm to audit the results.
"The support for our community during this endeavor was overwhelming, and we truly value all the support," said Johnson.
SRH and its supporters first started competing for the MRI in late October. A two-minute video made by hospital staff about the devastation of the March 1 tornado -- and the courageous acts of the hospital staff during the tornado -- was posted at the website www.winanmri.com. Voters could view the video, "Blown Away," and vote once each day on each of their computers through Dec. 31.
Second District Congressman Sanford Bishop and his staff even expressed their support for SRH in the contest. By Nov. 4, SRH had set the pace of the hospitals around the nation competing for the MRI. At that time, SRH had more than 71,600 votes in the online contest, which was more than 40 hospitals from around the nation competing for the new MAGNETOM Essenza, an 1.5T MRI system that was valued at more than $800,000.
"We are currently in the lead, but it is way too early to celebrate," said Marcus Johnson in early November. "Just last week we were in last place, so the other hospitals know that it is possible to move in the top spot. We have two more months of voting left, so there is still a lot of work to be done."
People around the country showed their support for SRH by submitting votes to the contest.
