Northwestern Memorial Imaging Center, CT/MRI

Medical imaging is never pleasant. However, the staff and facilities here are top quality.
Check in is smooth. The staff treat you like a human. Locker and dressing facilities are clean and modern.
The rooms for the imagining are calm and comfortable. Best of all, the results are fast.
Hopefully I will not have any need to return there, but if I do, they do a great job.

While shopping around for places to get a brain MRI, I looked into dozens of hospitals and imaging centers and spoke with my good friend who is a radiologist. Based largely on his recommendation, I decided to go with the «best of the best» — Northwestern.
The whole experience was very pleasant. They have evening hours, so my husband and I were able to go together after work. I had a 7:30 pm appointment (and they got me in the day after I called to set up the appointment). Their lobby and patient waiting area are incredible. Everything looks brand new, there is a Keurig machine to make hot drinks, and big screen TVs. The nurse who drew my blood and placed my IV did a great job and I hardly felt the needle. The MRI room is gorgeous too — beautiful artwork on the walls and ceilings. The MRI machine I was in was a 3-​Tesla (higher magnet strength and better detail than the standard 1.5-Tesla). Many facilities don’t have 3-​Tesla machines, so this was another reason I chose Northwestern. The sweet MRI tech explained each step of the process and made sure I understood and felt comfortable with everything. She even asked if I wanted ear plugs or headphones, and what type of music I would like to listen to. The whole process, and everyone involved, were absolutely wonderful. I see why my friend called them «the best of the best.»
The only reason I’m giving them 4 stars instead of 5 is the price. When the bill came in, the charges for everything before insurance totaled $ 5,875. I ended up paying only $ 603 after insurance but that’s still much more expensive than most other facilities. Despite the sticker shock, I’m still happy with my decision to go to Northwestern and plan on going back there for any additional imaging tests in the future.

Very professional staff and great, friendly patient care and service. Very clean facilities. They really do make an effort to keep things running on time. On the day I went, one of their machines was down, but they still got me in at my exact appointment time. They give you forms to fill out ahead of time and then you’re taken to a changing area where they have rooms with lockers for you to store your belongings. There’s another nice waiting area with TVs for you to wait in (though briefly) until you’re taken to the MRI room. The MRI technician was friendly, made sure I was comfortable before starting the MRI, and gave me thorough play-​by-​play instructions and let me know exactly what to expect during the MRI. They also give you headphones so you can listen to relaxing music during the scan because the machine is really loud.
If you need to get a MRI, I’d highly recommend this place.

I have nothing bad to say! What a lovely experience. (This was for a sonogram visit) It’s a medical facility, but dang!- they are close to spa-​like. And the place looks like it was entirely renovated recently. (Recently– like 10 minutes before I arrived! Looks new and pristine.)
CHECKING IN: The front desk counter was so friendly, polite, helpful, and the waiting room large, comfy-​cozy, big windows, lots of space, and a coffee bar. A good looking one. well forget the waiting room because I was barely in there 1 minute before I was called back.
CONSULTATION: Next stop, I went to a little consultation office where they confirmed my info and insurance, and actually had a printed out sheet for me that told me what the sonogram would cost, how much my insurance covered, and what part I would be responsible for. How NICE to have that up front. They ask if you’d like to put anything towards it, or just be invoiced later.
PRE-​EXAM: Next, I moved to an ‘inside’ beautiful waiting room. There was a cute little room to change if you needed to put on a gown. I did not. The waiting room was again, serene and pristine and comfy. After about 3 whole minutes there, I was escorted to the exam room.
EXAM: The room had low lighting, and the sonogram technician introduced herself, and the student who would be shadowing her. I laid down, and there was a pretty design on the ceiling, as many exams probably take place with the patient looking up at the ceiling. The gel/​lube they used with the sonogram wand was heated and that was a nice touch. The technician seemed very efficient and knew exactly what she was doing. (10 min). Then she met with the radiologist with her images, and I waited in the room about 10 min. Then the radiologist came in to take a look himself, and that was over in about 5 minutes. And I was on my way. They even let me know when my doctor would have the images in her hands.
I stopped in one of the restrooms by the waiting room to wash the gel off me, and the bathrooms were even very modern, new and lovely. If you need sonograms done– this place is great, so were the people and the facility.

I’m currently undergoing a series of medical tests. I went for a scheduled MRI about a week ago. Northwestern Memorial Imaging Center’s facilities look like a 5-​star hotel. Everything is clean, high tech and comfortable. The staff is very friendly and the MRI wasn’t so bad. My issue is with the phlebotomist, also a very nice guy, but a lousy, lousy, lousy «stick». I told him it was always difficult to find my veins because they are small. Let me preface this by saying that I had two female phlebotomists in the past two weeks who acknowledged the difficulty in finding my veins, nevertheless, they were gentle, took their time and left me pain free with barely a mark from blood draws and IVs. This guy was overly confident and «saw» it almost immediately. He stuck the needle in my left arm/​inner elbow and after the initial piercing pain, it felt like he was digging with difficulty. He said that first one didn’t work and unwrapped a second needle. Ouch, ouch, ouch! He drew a blood sample to test my kidneys, which were fine. Then he said, «I’m not going to lie to you, you’re going to have some bruising.» Nice. Then it was time to insert the IV. He decided to forget about trying for a vein in my arm and instead opted for the easily visible vein on top of my right hand. I said, «Please be gentle» and he assured me it would be fast. He inserted the IV catheter causing me more pain and discomfort and the little widget that is left for inserting the IV was FILLED with a lot of blood. Very sloppy! FIVE days later and my left arm has significant bruising and hurts A LOT. My right wrist above the IV hand insertion has no bruising but I have pain extending from above the insertion point, along my vein, up my wrist and into my forearm. I am worried that he punctured my vein in my left arm, causing a hematoma and that he possibly pierced a nerve in my right hand. Either way, this is totally unacceptable at a world class hospital. I hope his prior experience in phlebotomy wasn’t learned from shooting up drugs. Yikes! Perhaps further training is needed and hopefully Northwestern will address this issue.