Rayus Radiology opens new outpatient vascular center amid growing demand for IR services

Rayus Radiology has launched a new vascular care clinic amid growing demand for interventional services. 

The St. Louis Park, Minnesota-based organization recently opened two adjacent outpatient imaging facilities in Westbrook, Maine, a suburb of Portland. One offers diagnostic imaging services including PET, MR, CT, ultrasound and X-ray while the second has a dedicated vascular suite designed in tandem with multispecialty physician group Spectrum Healthcare Partners. 

This marks Rayus Radiology’s fifth dedicated outpatient vascular care clinic, along with others in DeSoto, Texas, and the Minnesota suburbs of St. Louis Park, Maplewood and Woodbury. The opening also follows another imaging center launch in Scarborough, and reflects the company’s “continued investment in accessible, patient-focused diagnostic and interventional care across southern Maine,” according to an announcement.  

“With technology advances and endovascular techniques really taking off, a lot of the services that interventional radiology does can be safely performed in an outpatient setting,” Jarred Onarheim, senior vice president of operations and business development at Rayus Radiology, said in an interview. “And from a patient care perspective, not having to navigate the hospital setting and having the option of undergoing these minimally invasive services on the same or next day is a big benefit, especially on the oncology side.”

Rayus Radiology both owns and operates the newest vascular center. Meanwhile, Portland-based Spectrum Healthcare Partners—the result of a 1996 merger between Radiology Associates of Maine, the Northeast Anesthesia Professional Association and Maine Pathology Associates—performs the procedures, led by Erich A. Russell, DO. Treatments delivered cover everything from chronic pelvic pain to critical limb ischemia, non-healing wounds and peripheral artery disease. 

Onarheim said the company targeted the Portland, Maine, metro market because of gaps in outpatient care offerings. New England Cancer Specialists also has a sizable presence on the Rock Row Campus in Westbrook and has seen growing demand for IR options, he added. 

“We have worked with them on a variety of different projects, helping them on the radiology side of the oncology space they're in,” Onarheim said. “It was a good opportunity for us to continue to expand and create additional access for patients in the Portland greater metro area.”

Rayus will seek additional markets in which to consider opening outpatient vascular care centers. These considerations are focused on geographies where patients would benefit from having IR options closer to home, and where there are specialists seeking help expanding. Rayus Radiology is a “collection of partnerships,” he said, teaming with local imaging groups and hospitals to offer services. Onarheim said workforce shortfalls continue to plague provider groups since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It's been a big challenge. Staffing shortages in healthcare are real,” he said. “There's a huge shortage of radiologists across the nation, and it's something we're working on continuing to navigate.”

Rayus (formerly the Center for Diagnostic Imaging) is owned by private equity firm Wellspring Capital Management. It operates 150 freestanding imaging centers, employing over 3,000 team members and 400-plus affiliated radiologists managing 75 million images annually.