Once again GX94/FOX FM Radio is sponsoring and hosting the Airwaves for Health Radiothon. The radiothon will last 36 hours and take place April 23rd and 24th; it will be physically located at the Parkland Mall in Yorkton.
CJGX Radio hosts the 36 hour radiothon at no charge to The Health Foundation, absorbing all of the on-air costs so that 100% of all donations made to the Airwaves for Health Radiothon can go directly to healthcare. To aid in that, Parkland Mall provides space at no charge and SaskTel provides phone lines at no charge.
"Our Radiothons have enjoyed tremendous success in the first five years, raising a total of $349,000. We expect that support to grow this year. Each year we see hundreds of people, businesses and organizations make a donation through the radiothon, some attending in person at the mall and many phoning their donation in. We have been very happy with the results," said Angie Norton, General Manager of Harvard Broadcasting in Yorkton.
"This year we are raising funds to purchase an additional ultrasound machine for the regional health centre. This is an exciting project for the region, and something I think everyone can see the need for," said Mrs. Norton. 'The wait times for ultrasound exams are too long in this health region, too many people have to go to Regina for tests. Raising the funds to buy another ultrasound will address this need and improve our local access to healthcare," she continued.
"Certainly our on-air staff are looking forward to working on this radiothon; we clearly need another ultrasound and why we need it is easy to talk to the public about. We will be interviewing doctors, nurses and other health care professionals about why we need the equipment, what tests they will do with it, and what kind of a difference it will make for patients and for our doctors and technicians", continued Mrs. Norton.
"I think the radiothons have been strongly supported because the proceeds always go to something specific, and people can see the benefit in supporting the fundraising effort. Over the last few years the radiothon has been a big part of raising the funds for several new programs like the digital mammography equipment, and the new heart and stroke programs we now have. Those fundraising campaigns were successful and that new equipment is in use. I think everyone who contributed can be proud of that," continued Mr. Fisher.
Our health region is very much need of an additional ultrasound machine. With the addition of the Stroke Prevention Clinic, itinerant surgeries, and changes in best practices there has been a steady increase in ultrasound requests at the regional hospital. Best practice changes have resulted in examinations moving from invasive radiology procedures to ultrasound scans. For example, evaluation of Deep Vein Thrombosis, rotator cuff tears of the shoulder and bakers cysts of the knee are now mainly done with ultrasound.
The addition of new specialty services over the last two years has created a need for added ultrasound exams to support these specialist clinics and surgeries. For example, we now have an orthopedic surgeon and a heart surgeon who come to Yorkton and hold clinics each month, and then the following week they return to do the necessary surgeries. Most of the exams they require are ultrasound.
As well, we have a new Stroke Prevention Clinic in the hospital, and Carotid Doppler ultrasound is a requirement to run a stroke clinic. Due to capacity Sunrise can only do five Carotid Doppler exams per clinic. Any extra requests are currently referred out causing patients to travel to Regina for their scans. As the clinic grows this will impact more people; many of these clients are elderly and have difficulty with the travel.
These new services have added to the demand for ultrasound exams. The increased demand means people wait longer to receive their exams. If your need for an exam is urgent or life threatening then you receive an exam quickly. However, wait times for other exams are much longer.
The government will fund another full-time permanent ultrasound technician position if we raise the money to buy another ultrasound machine. A new ultrasound machine has a cost of $250,000. We want to take advantage of this opportunity and raise the money fairly quickly; it will allow us to provide better service to patients and provide the exams the specialists want if they are going to keep coming to Yorkton and providing service here.
As well, adding another ultrasound machine will deal with our long wait times. With another ultrasound machine, almost 3,000 more exams will be done each year, allowing us to provide better service for the specialists and reduce wait times. People need to be able to get their exams done here, in a reasonable period of time, and not have to go to Regina.
The phone number to call to make your radiothon donation is 783-2282.
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