Published: August 28, 2008 09:52 am      

Garrett medical center granted $250,000 for diagnostic equipment

OAKLAND — The Mountain Laurel Medical Center is getting $250,000 for equipment from the Appalachian Regional Commission, which could prove to be a major help in maintaining the budget for the new center.

“We’d run short on the capital side,” Duane Yoder, director of Garrett County Community Action Committee, said at the county commission meeting Tuesday. “It means there’s money we don’t have to use for equipment.”

The official announcement of the ARC funding came in a release from U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin’s office Wednesday that the $250,000 grant would be given to the Western Maryland Health Corp. for the center’s equipment project.

“This ARC grant is an important investment in helping to improve health care for residents of Western Maryland,” Cardin said. “Medical science has made tremendous advances and this new medical technology will save lives by helping doctors diagnose illnesses earlier so appropriate treatment can be provided as soon as possible.”

The grant from ARC, a federal-state partnership that works with the people of Appalachia, will assist in purchasing telemedicine equipment to be used in diagnostic services. This includes work stations, computer software, white boards, monitors, X-ray displays, exam room equipment and telephone upgrades.

The new equipment is expected to be used in diagnosing about 40 patients in the first year of operation, and the health center will create one new position to manage the diagnostic services and patient records.

“Technology is revolutionizing the way we administer health care, leading to new breakthroughs, faster diagnoses and better delivery of care,” Sen. Barbara Mikulski stated in the release. “I’m proud this ARC grant will enable patients at the Mountain Laurel Medical Center to benefit from top-flight telemedicine equipment. I will continue to fight for grants like these that benefit Maryland’s families and communities.”

Yoder said the building to be located beside the Garrett County Health Department is nearly halfway done, with hopes it will be completed in January, when it will be officially turned over by Community Action to the Mountain Laurel Medical Center staff.

Mountain Laurel, a family practice that offers a fee scale for those under insured or uninsured, has been operating temporarily out of the lower level of the Regional Eye Center across from the health department since 2006.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.