Fundraising Continues for Chestertown MRI

Fundraising Continues for Chestertown MRI
More Than 600 Patients Have Already Benefitted From New Technology

CHESTERTOWN, Md. – (March 24, 2026) The state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine installed last fall at UM Shore Medical Center (UM SMC) at Chestertown has brought advanced diagnostic technology to the region and reinforced the medical center’s role as a critical community resource. UM SMC at Chestertown is a University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) hospital; UM SRH is a member of organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

“The MRI has made a meaningful difference, helping more than 600 patients receive faster, more comfortable and higher-quality imaging close to home,” said Libby Woolever, UM Chester River Health Foundation Chair. “The new MRI also expands access to advanced diagnostic breast MRI screening. More than 30 women have benefited from this important technology.”

Robin Unruh of Chestertown was one of the first women screened with the new breast MRI in Chestertown.

“After a routine mammogram and follow up sonogram, I was able to schedule an MRI quickly and easily,” said Unruh. “The best thing is that I didn’t have to travel, it was right in my own backyard.”

Dr. Richard Gillin, a retired professor at Washington College, was able to obtain a needed MRI within a few days. “It was an uncomplicated process that gave me new confidence in our hospital,” he said.

“The new MRI strengthens the medical center’s ability to attract specialists, improve diagnoses and increase referrals from local physicians while making advanced imaging more accessible to residents across the region,” said Rebecca Bair, Vice President of Philanthropy and Executive Director of the Foundations, UM Shore Regional Health.

The MRI was purchased by UM Shore Regional Health at a total cost of $2.2 million in advance of achieving the fundraising goal of $1.4 million due to the immediate need for updated equipment and early fundraising commitments from the community. Fundraising efforts are continuing, with more than 750 donors having already contributed.

For information about ways to make a gift, please visit umcrhf.org/donate/.

CUTLINE: UM SRH team members demonstrate the new MRI. (MRI.jpg)

About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health
A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

About the University of Maryland Medical System
The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high-quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.