A new medical imaging center has opened in North Kalispell aiming to provide another alternative for patients seeking imaging services to the Flathead Valley.  

“There’s a need for low-cost medical imaging that provides options, choice and better access to services in the area,” said Dr. Nick Satovick, the medical director of the newly opened facility. 

The Montana Imaging Center, located just next to the water tower on U.S. 93, offers both magnetic resonance imaging, also called an MRI, and computerized tomography scans, also known as CT using Canon brand machines.

The Kalispell location is modeled after the Montana Imaging Center in Missoula owned by Dr. Tim McCue. While the two centers are separate entities, both share the same model and franchise name. 

The goal when McCue opened the Missoula center over two years ago was to provide quality medical imaging and interpretation for a fraction of the cost a hospital would offer. 

Montana Imaging Center’s prices are a third of the prices elsewhere in the valley, according to the Kalispell center’s manager and financial director Tate Kreitinger. 

Both radiologists, Satovick and McCue, along with Kreitinger, teamed up to expand the center to Kalispell.  

“Seeing Tim’s model work in Missoula and how well he was received by the community, the providers and the patients in Missoula really gave us the confidence to do something similar or the same here,” Satovick said. 

A month after opening, Satovick and his team can take orders from providers across the valley, from physical therapists to physicians to veterinarians to naturopaths.  

Satovick, who has worked as a radiologist in the valley for years, knows there are many patients who leave the valley for cost efficient and reliable medical imaging. To provide it locally with people who have been working in health care for years is a great feeling, he said.  

The center is also able to offer interpretations and consultations on the images, a key part of the imaging process. Working with providers across the valley, medical imaging identifies areas of issue so doctors can establish a plan of action. 

Both Satovic and Kreitinger boasted about the team at Montana Imaging Center. Technologists Brandye Pitz and Lea Moss have been involved in imaging in the valley for years. They were both part of Flathead Valley Community College’s first radiologic technology course.  

“An important part to us is that both locations are owned and operated by local Montanans,” said Kreitinger. 

Being an independent entity, according to Kreitinger, allows the center to utilize more options and flexibility. The center currently accepts all forms of insurance but does not accept Medicare and Medicaid in order to keep costs low.  

The imaging center occupies half the space in the 12,000-square-foot building at 3201 U.S. 93 N.  

For more information about services, prices and scheduling, visit montanaimagingcenter.com.  

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or [email protected].