CLEARWATER, Fla (December 9, 2002)---Morton Plant Hospital's Bardmoor Outpatient and Surgery Center launches its new "Comfort MRI" service on Monday, December 9, 2002. The service will use a variety of approaches to relieve the anxiety some patients experience during a MRI. "Comfort" enhancements to the MRI experience include massage therapy, aromatherapy, headphone music and reflexology.

"Comfort MRI allows patients to feel more like they are going to a spa for a treatment rather than undergoing a MRI," said David Nelson, director of imaging services for Morton Plant Hospital. "Our mission is to ease the fears of patients who might be afraid to have a MRI."

Bardmoor Outpatient and Surgery Center can tailor the procedure to meet any patient's needs for comfort from various relaxation techniques to conscious sedation. Prior to a MRI examination, the Center also offers an extensive educational program and even a tour of the facility. Bardmoor offers both high field conventional MRI and low field open MRI services.

Bardmoor Outpatient and Surgery Center is located at 8787 Bryan Dairy Road in Largo, Fla., 727-394-5900. To schedule a "Comfort MRI" call 1-866-267-4MRI.

Established in 1916, Morton Plant Hospital is a 687-bed facility dedicated to improving the health of all it serves through community-owned health services that set the standard for high quality, compassionate care. This year Morton Plant was named one of America's Top 50 Hospitals, according to AARP Modern Maturity magazine and a 100 Top Hospital in the "Solucient 100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success" study for the fourth consecutive year. In 2000, HCIA-Sachs (now Solucient) named Morton Plant as the only hospital in the country to achieve 100 Top Hospital status in four categories - cardiovascular, stroke, orthopaedic and overall.

In 2001, Morton Plant Hospital joined forces with H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute at the University of South Florida, Tampa to provide research and services for cancer patients. Morton Plant Hospital is located at 300 Pinellas Street, Clearwater, Fla., 727-462-7000.

Contact: Phoebe Ochman/Beth Hardy

MPMHC News Bureau

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