Ultrasound purchase

The Health Foundation recently purchased an additional ultrasound machine for the Regional Hospital This is very important for the region because wait times are too long, and having the additional machine means Sunrise can begin bringing the wait times down.

Putting this machine is place was made more difficult because renovations to the hospital had to happen. 'We didn't have any room to put this machine in the diagnostic imaging department," said Maria McLaren, Technical Director of Diagnostic Imaging.

"We had to move people out of their work space, and then renovate to create a proper working space for our ultrasound technicians. The renovations cost over $15,000, and we appreciate that the foundation raised enough funds to also pay those costs." "In addition to the renovations we had to hire an additional ultrasound sonographer to operate the machine. We needed an additional staff person to be able to conduct the additional tests each year and bring down our wait times," continued Ms. McLaren.

"The key to our agreeing to raise the money, was that Sunrise agreed to hire an additional ultrasound sonographer.

The additional staff person meant the service could be expanded and the residents of this area would be able to get the tests they needed faster, continued Mr. Fisher.

There were 74 business and over 1,000 individuals who made contributions that enabled us to buy this equipment.

The cost of the renovations and equipment was $220,000. Above, pictured with Ross Fisher, is Maria McLaren, the Technical Director of Medical Imaging.