Central Dakota Radiologists announced Tuesday that it will stop providing services to St. Alexius Medical Center and all other medical facilities they serve.

The change is effective July 1, according to a news release.

St. Alexius, which has been working with Central Dakota Radiologists since the 1970s, was contacted about the decision last week, said Nancy Willis, vice president of communications with St. Alexius.

Willis said five radiologists are part of Central Dakota Radiologists, which is located in St. Alexius. The group also provides services to some rural hospitals in North Dakota, Willis said.

Central Dakota Radiologists has worked with medical facilities for 37 years, according to a news release from Dr. Douglas Peterson, who heads the group.

"Over the course of the past several years there has been a significant increase in demand for radiology services, while at the same time there has been difficulty in recruitment and retention of board-certified radiologists to Bismarck,"Peterson said in the release.

Peterson declined to comment further.

In the meantime, St. Alexius will look for other radiology groups to work with, Willis said. She was not aware of any other groups working out of Bismarck.

"We already have some agreements with some radiology groups that cover for us when they are not available,"Willis said.

The medical center also plans to continue working with a teleradiology group based out of Minnesota, which is often used when Central Dakota Radiology is unavailable. Willis said the loss of Central Dakota Radiology will not affect hospital services.

Kris Magstadt with Medcenter One said the hospital does not contract out for radiology services, and employs its own radiologists.

(Reach reporter Crystal Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)