MALVERN, PA - "American Idol," meet American healthcare.
In an effort to bring its new product to the marketplace and help out a cash-strapped, small hospital, Siemens Medical Solutions has launched an online contest to give away an MRI system. Any acute care hospitals containing less than 180 beds are urged to submit a video of two minutes in length, stating their case for a MAGNETOM Essenza MRI system worth roughly $800,000. To qualify, the hospital can't already offer MRI services, either in the hospital or at a remote facility.
"Small hospitals are facing cost pressures that limit their ability to provide services" like MRIs, said Jeffrey Bundy, vice president of Siemens Medical Solutions' Magnetic Resonance Division. "This campaign really hit the mark with them."
As of Nov. 15, 82 hospitals had submitted videos to www.winanmri.com. Visitors to the site are asked to vote for one video (the number of visits and votes are logged for each video), and the contest will conclude on Dec. 31. Bundy said the winner will be announced sometime before Jan. 15, 2008.
At a time when more than 1,500 hospitals in the United States do not offer MRI services and smaller hospitals are having problems making ends meet, Bundy said the contest puts the emphasis on the disconnect between rural America and the need for affordable healthcare. A Siemens press release noted that MRI services are among the fastest growing imaging techniques on the market, with 10 percent growth in procedures each year since 2003. Entire communities, he said, have rallied around their hospitals in submitting videos to the contest, and many have offered compelling arguments as to why a hospital should offer an MRI service.
Those arguments come in many forms, from humorous to serious. Wright Medical Center in Clarion, Iowa, for instance, submitted a skit titled "Gilligan's Quest for an MRI," while Peach Regional Medical Center in Fort Valley, Ga. entered "The Grinch Who Stole PRMC's Mobile MRI." There's also "Need More Duct Tape" from Community Hospital of Tallassee, Ala. and "Lobstah Mishaps" from Down East Community Hospital in Machias, Maine.
Those aiming for the heartstrings include Sayre Memorial Hospital in Sayre, Okla., whose video, "We're Not Kidding Around," uses children, and Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater, Ohio, whose "Dog Gone MRI" employs dogs and cats.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the appropriately named "My Town," from Florida Hospital of Lake Placid, Fla., and "Help Us Grow," from Sanford Canby Campus in Canby, Minn., which offers sepia-toned testimonials from hospital officials.
Then there's "Blown Away," a submission from Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, Ga., which was severely damaged by a tornado this past March. As of Nov.15, the hospital had received 112,233 votes, placing it in first, well ahead of the second-place contestant with 54,805 votes.
"What we hoped for was creativity," said Bundy, who checks out the videos during weeknight and weekends. "We didn't want anything professional. This is real people who want these services for their community."
Mercer County Community Hospital released a press release announcing the hospital's move into the Top 10 in the contest and asking community members to vote.
"To win this contest and pay absolutely nothing for this advanced MRI scanner would be a fantastic thing for this community," said Ken Obringer, director of marketing and communications. "The more computers we have voting on a daily basis, the better our chances are of bringing this valuable diagnostic piece of equipment to the community."
The MAGNETOM Essenza MRI system was released on Oct. 17 and is being marketed specifically toward small hospitals.