ASHEVILLE, N.C. (June 27, 2012) – Mission Children’s Hospital celebrated the grand opening of its new Children’s Radiology Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 27 at 6 p.m. at the Reuter Outpatient Center located at 11 Vanderbilt Park Drive in Asheville.  

“It is exciting to see the culmination of several years of work with the opening of the Children’s Radiology Center,” said Susan Mims, M.D., vice president and medical director of Mission Children’s Hospital. “As the region’s only pediatric imaging center, it offers the children of western North Carolina improved access to high-quality, age-specific imaging  in a child and family friendly environment.”

Services, including X-ray, open architecture MRI, ultrasound and fluoroscopy, will be provided by pediatric radiologists and specially-trained radiology technicians with expertise in pediatric care. A pediatric sedation team will provide sedation when needed for studies, and the Child Life team will help ease fears for children and families. The imaging center is collocated with the pediatric specialists, including pediatric orthopedists, for convenient, one-stop care close to home.

“Radiation exposure is a big concern when doing imaging studies on children, and our specially trained staff can obtain high quality studies with minimal radiation exposure,” said Bret Sleight, M.D., and pediatric radiologist at the Children’s Radiology Center. “This is especially important when working with children who need repeated studies over the course of their treatment.” 

The grand opening and ribbon cutting is combined with the Mountain Children’s Network continuing education talk where Marianne Ballisty, M.D., who will join Mission Children’s Hospital and Asheville Radiology Associates in August, Dr. Sleight and several pediatric subspecialists will discuss cases demonstrating the most efficient imaging strategies that minimize radiation exposure in children.

About Mission Children’s Hospital

Mission Children’s Hospital (MCH), a member of Mission Health, is dedicated to helping the children of Western North Carolina grow up healthy. Through MCH’s many medical specialties and services, the region’s only hospital just for children provides high quality care close to home and promotes health and wellness for all children across Western North Carolina. MCH provides care to all children, regardless of their family's ability to pay. Medicaid, Carolina Access and Health Choice are accepted. More information is available at www.missionhospitals.org.