Cleveland Clinic Begins Moving Into Nagel Facility

And you thought getting your sectional sofa through the front door was tough.

As work finishes on the off Nagel Road and Just Imagine Drive, moving plans are coming along. The first piece of equipment to go into the 187,000 square-foot building was one of the most challenging.

A 25,000-lb. MRI machine was brought from another Clinic facility on a flatbed truck on Wednesday and was moved in using a crane, some wheels placed under it, and plenty of muscle.

The machine just about fills the 15-by-15-foot room that is its new home.

What makes the machine special, said Avon facility medical director , is that it contains a magnet with a Tesla rating of 3, which will be the strongest one on Cleveland's west side. Most MRIs, he said, have a Tesla rating somewhere between 1 and 1.5.

"It scans so much faster," he said. "So if you're in pain, you have to spend less time in a narrow tube having to be still."

MRIs are commonly used in orthopedic care, for things like knee injuries or back pain, Knapp said. They is also used in neurology and oncology.

This MRI machine is about four years old. Purchased new, the Siemens machine would cost about $3 million, said Cleveland Clinic media relations manager Scott Heasley.

The radiology department will also have a CT scanner, something the it is closing to move to Avon doesn't have, Knapp said. There will also be digital mammography, PET scanning and ultrasound.

Equipment will continue to be moved in in the coming weeks, Knapp said. Staff will be moved the first weekend of December and will begin seeing patients on Dec. 5. There will be 360 staff positions there.

While the medical offices are opening in December, the emergency room will be opening sometime next year as the new Nagel Road interchange is completed.