Health professionals in the northwest of Ontario say that the expansion of magnetic resonance image services (MRI) in the region will be a change of play for patients, especially those who spend hours traveling from remote communities to receive care.
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center is the only hospital in the region offered by MRI, a non -invasive medical image technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to take detailed images of organs and tissues in the body.
In addition to Thunder Bay, the closest option for patients in the Northwest goes to Winnipeg.
However, that will soon change, with the Lake of the Woods district hospital (LWDH) in Kenora and the Gane Men’s health center and in Sioux.
“In the past, we used CT. One week, what could be resolved on the same day, “said Dr. Nety Panu, the main radiologist of the Men and Win Health Center.
“It will bring the ability to have the same diagnostic tools that everyone has to our patients.”
The provincial government announced $ 7.6 million for the LWDH magnetic resonance suite in November. In January, before the elections were called, $ 8.1 million were announced to The suite in Sioux lookout.
“This in turn will help patients also in Thunder Bay because now their waiting times will not be so long, right? So, it is a really large and double impact where this is really putting the patients first,” said Panu.
Serve a large indigenous population
IRMs are used to diagnose many health problems, including brain injuries, heart disease and various tumors and cancers.
“Anything to do with your muscles, your tendons, your brain, any soft tissue structure, provides many more details than those of an radiography or tomography health center.
Sioux Lookout is a medical care center for 33 that surround the first nations, 28 of which are remote. While the city itself has a population of approximately 5,500 people, the hospital serves more than 30,000 patients.
“I think it will probably be one of the only magnetic resonances in this country that would serve such a large proportion of the indigenous population,” said Panu, and added that the hospital provides translators and culturally conscious menu options for their indigenous patients.
Beyond obtaining faster diagnoses, said Panu, having magnetic resonance services closer to home will also benefit the mental well -being of patients.
“Every time a medical enigma is presented that involves you or your family, concern always explodes. So, for patients, when they have three or four days of travel to get to something and then have the unknown to wait for Answer is a hyperbolic effect of concern, “Panu said.
The suite in Sioux Lookout will expand from the hospital’s existing diagnostic image department and will see renovations to approximately 1,900 square feet of space.
The hospital is ending its favorite provider and is looking to put the project to its tender this month and have a current contract by the end of March. The goal is to have the suite in operation at the end of 2026, according to Kitching.
The Sioux Lookout Meno and Win Health Center Foundation has raised $ 2.5 million so far for the scanner and the support team.
Improvement of health equity throughout the region
In Kenora, where plans are being made to build a new hospital, there was a recognition that the community could not afford the new installation before obtaining magnetic resonance services, said Cheryl O’Flaherty, president and executive director of LWDH.
“Our hospital is not bigger, so everything becomes smaller. But it is fine. We are willing to make sacrifices in the office space and all kinds of things to leave space for this magnetic resonance, because we see it as So important to our hospital, “O’Flaherty said.
Beyond those of the first nations, said O’Flaherty, the residents of Dryden, Red Lake and Fort Frances also come to the city to obtain medical services, which means having a magnetic resonance suite “will improve health equity the residents of the northwest of Ontario “.
“Patients often wait for months, as some know well, to obtain that diagnosis, so this will make their diagnosis faster,” O’Flaherty said.
“It will have a positive impact on our doctors who also care for these patients because they often expect that test to return to refer to the next level of treatment.”
Like Sioux Lookout, Kenora’s Hospital Foundation will also have to raise money for the capital medical team. A launch event for the “Beyond the Scan campaign” to support magnetic resonance, mammography and a CT scanner in the hospital will take place on February 12.
The hope is to have the Kenora magnetic resonance suite ready for mid -summer.
