CURRENT
NEEDS
NEEDS
MRI Machine • $4 Million
What It Does: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique that uses a magnetic field and computer-generated radio waves to create detailed images of organs and tissues in the body. This provides better clarity of specific body parts compared to x-ray or CT technology.
How it Helps Patients: An MRI can be ordered for many reasons. For a high-risk cancer patient screening. If a patient comes in with a brain or spinal cord injury. If a patient has experienced a seizure, a brain bleed, or for a variety of chronic illnesses and undiagnosed conditions. It is a critical diagnostic tool, and last year alone 4,000 patients from our community had to travel to Barrie or Orillia (more than 40km away) and often wait months to receive an MRI.
Why We Need It: GBGH is the largest acute care facility in the province without an operating or announced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. GBGH has recently received approval of operational funding for an MRI. By investing in MRI technology, you can help bring access to care closer to home for thousands of people every year, locally reduce wait times (in our community and at neighbouring hospitals), and ensure your hospital has the latest technology to improve and save lives.
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“Sometimes we’ll have a patient come in with a non-critical head injury or a suspected brain bleed and when we send them for the CT scan, the report will come back saying we need further imaging from an MRI. Waitlists for an outpatient MRI are many months long. By bringing an MRI to GBGH we will vastly reduce wait times in our region and be a direct benefit to patients both in-hospital and within our community.”
– Lisa Davies,
ED Nurse, Georgian Bay General Hospital
How long do you have to
wait for an MRI in our region?
In Simcoe County North, depending on the priority level, you can wait up to 106 days on average vs the Ontario provincial average of 82 days (as of July 2023). That’s 24 days longer. Overall MRI wait times are only being met 15% of the time at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre and 20% of the time at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, compared to the Ontario provincial average of 35%. What this means is that a new MRI at GBGH will decrease wait times for the whole region and greatly enhance the level of care in our community.
Ontario Provincial Average
Patients scanned within target time
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre
Patients scanned within target time
Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital
Patients scanned within target time