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Commissioners OK CT scanner acquisition
The current CT scanner at Pecos County Memorial Hospital has seen better days.
It's a basic four-slice scanner that was purchased eight years ago, according to PCMH chief executive officer Russell Tippin. The tube has been replaced numerous times, he said, and the last replacement cost about $60,000.
"The life expectancy for that unit is five years, and that's under normal usage," Tippin told the Pecos County Commissioners Court Monday morning during a special session. "And we've been using it more than normal usage. Normal usage is about 100 scans a month and we do about 220."
It's past time to acquire a new one, Tippin said. The commissioners agreed, voting to approve the acquisition of a Siemens 64-slice scanner.
Tippin said the outright purchase price for the scanner is about $936,000, with no maintenance agreement. The court instructed the PCMH Board of Directors, which was scheduled to meet Tuesday night, to consider three options: purchase, lease-purchase and lease.
The special session of the court was necessitated to grant an exemption of contract from competitive bidding requirements of Texas Local Government Code 262.024, as well as the approval of the acquisition of the CT scanner.
"This is a situation that has come up," Tippin said. "We've talked about replacing the scanner for some time."
In addition to the expense of replacing tubes, Tippin said the scanner is putting out scans that are not readily readable by medical personnel.
He added that patients have had scans at PCMH and at hospitals in Odessa and Midland that have showed the difference in the quality of scans.
The PCMH board was scheduled to consider the three options for the acquisition of the new scanner, Tippin said. He told the court it was his thinking that the board was leaning toward a lease or lease-purchase agreement.
"The technology is just changing so fast," Tippin said. "This one will have all the bells and whistles."
But in five years, Tippin said, it might be obsolete, making some type of lease agreement more attractive. Tippin said he contacted three vendors Oct. 2, but only Siemens had responded by Monday morning.
General Electric and Philips were the other CT scanner vendors contacted, he said.
Tippin said an added benefit to the acquisition of a scanner from Siemens is that should the new unit be offline for repairs the company would provide a portable unit. Currently, if the old scanner is down for repairs, the hospital cannot do CT scans, he said.
Tippin estimated monthly payments for the Siemens scanner to be between $18,000 and $25,000 per month. The trade in value of the old scanner is just enough to cover its disposal, he said.
"We'll just find a way to make it work (financially)," Tippin said. "We'll make it happen. This is a machine we've got to have."
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