Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) and the GBGH Foundation invited donors to attend a celebration in honour of the hospital’s new computerized tomography (CT) scanner. More than 2,000 donors contributed $1.35 million to purchase the important new diagnostic tool. The names of those donors can now be seen on the foundation’s new CT donor wall.
“When this new CT arrived in late September, it was a huge relief for us as the old unit had well surpassed its lifespan at 13 years old,” says Gail Hunt, president and CEO, GBGH. “The CT is one of the most important tools in our hospital to accurately diagnose what ails our patients. Our team – staff and physicians alike – are so pleased with the new addition. We’re all grateful for our community’s support in bringing enhanced diagnostic imaging equipment to GBGH.”
A CT scanner is used to diagnose disease or injuries, by taking a series of X-ray images of the body. It uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images (slices) of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside the body. CT scan images provide more-detailed information than plain X-rays do. GBGH’s new state-of-the-art unit – a Siemens Somaton Definition Edge – can take hundreds of highly-detailed images in a few seconds versus the original CT scanners of the 1970s which took one image in four minutes. The images can be seen immediately, patients are receiving timely access to imaging care and they are exposed to less radiation.
“The Foundation began fundraising for the CT scanner in 2014 and it is an incredible milestone to see this project near completion – with just a little over $124,000 left to raise,” says David Turner, president, GBGH Foundation Board of Directors. “We are very proud to celebrate our donors because they have made this improvement in patient care possible at GBGH. We celebrate your commitment to ensuring our hospital is equipped to provide exceptional care with our new CT.”
The CT, which arrived on September 28, scanned the first patient October 15. To accommodate the new CT, GBGH’s Diagnostic Imaging department was extensively renovated, with the CT relocating from a smaller room to a much more spacious one with enough space to accommodate a stretcher and other equipment. Since arriving last fall, the CT has performed more than 2,800 scans. Each year, GBGH performs more than 10,000 CT scans.
From left – David Turner, president, GBGH Foundation; Dr. Nick Lougheed, chief of Radiology, GBGH; Karen Roberts, president, GBGH Volunteer Association; Bill Goodale, C.C. Tatham & Associates Ltd.; Kevin Cascagnette, president, North Simcoe Rotaract; Gail Hunt, president and CEO, GBGH.