Cape Fear Valley Opens New MRI Facility in Elizabethtown, Expanding Health Care Access

A new MRI center opened March 1 in Elizabethtown. During the opening ceremony, rooms were named after important community supporters.

Patients can now book appointments Monday through Friday, replacing the mobile MRI unit that only offered services twice a week.

“This is huge for me,” Spencer Cummings, president of the Cape Fear Valley – Bladen County Hospital, told the Bladen Journal. “But I think it's even a bigger thing for the community. We're bringing services that we had two days a week to now, five days a week. Access to this MRI is going to be a lot easier to get to. It's going to have better results; faster results and it's right here in your own backyard.”

The 1,800-square-foot building houses a new Siemens Magnetom Altea machine. This modern scanner cuts exam times in half and can handle patients up to 550 pounds. Smart AI features and detailed body measurements help create clearer images.

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

The center takes over the location where Phillips Internal Medicine previously served the community. By buying the property from Nancy Phillips, the medical facility maintains its local connection while upgrading to newer technology.

The Cape Fear Valley Outpatient MRI facility is located at 507 Doctor's Drive.