St. Joseph’s Hospital will soon be home to the first computerized tomography (CT) scan in Estevan. The machine itself has yet to be installed, since the room to contain it still is being prepared.
According to executive director Greg Hoffort, the necessary steps to install the unit, and all the necessary infrastructure to accompany it, are proceeding at a good pace.
“We’re expecting the room to be complete next week, and then they’ll start the installation of the equipment, itself,” said Hoffort. “We’ll be going live in November, if everything goes according to plan, and it’s going to bring a whole new dynamic to the health care process in Estevan. We’re quite excited about it.”
Once the CT scan unit is in place, Hoffort said the machine will be run through a series of tests, while staff receive training to operate it, since everything else required to commission the room and the machine are done.
“It’s something the community has needed for a while. We’ve sought after one for a long time. Within the last few years, the hospital, along with the support of the Southeast Health committee and our member municipalities, put in a very strong proposal to the province, and to the Ministry of Health,” said Hoffort. “After a great deal of deliberation, the proposal was approved. It’s exciting stuff.”
According to a news release from Sun Country Health Region, the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation committed $2 million to the project, an amount that covers the cost of the equipment, renovations to the hospital and some of the startup costs of the project as a whole. The amount was raised from donors and included contributions from 15 municipalities in the Estevan area that will benefit from the new CT scan and its proximity to them.
The Ministry of Health will contribute over $1 million for the annual operating cost of the machine, taking over once the startup phase is complete.
The CT scan performs X-ray tests that show cross sections of the body, and is a powerful diagnostic tool for physicians. Hoffort noted that bringing one to St. Joseph’s Hospital will help doctors in Estevavn more effectively and quickly diagnose particular medical conditions. Hoffort said the expansion of services a CT scan entails will allow medical staff to meet patient needs more efficiently, particularly in emergencies, since it allows for more accurate diagnoses.
“It’s extensively used in the determination of stroke and for the stroke protocol. It can be used to scan a person who has been in a severe accident, for head or body trauma,” said Hoffort. “It’s got a multiple array of uses.”
Hoffort noted that right now, anyone in need of the service a CT scan provides must travel to Regina, where the closest CT scan to Estevan is located.
“The logistics of that one aren’t that great, in terms of inconvenience and from a health care perspective,” said Hoffort. “It makes it that much more needed in Estevan, and we’re very pleased we’ve been able to make it happen.”
The Ministry of Health stated in a media release, that the demand for CT scan services in Saskatchewan has increased, with 22 per cent more CT scans taking place in the province since 2008-09.
The machine coming to St. Joseph’s Hospital is part of a broader effort on the part of the ministry to increase service capacity in southern Saskatchewan, and to reduce diagnostic wait times by half in the province by 2019.
Construction for the new CT scan began several weeks ago, with a series of renovations. Rather than build a new wing onto the hospital, an already existing area in the diagnostic imaging department of the building is being outfitted to accommodate the new machine and equipment.
“A few weeks ago, we started with the demolition process, removing some unnecessary walls, mechanical and electrical structures, and the like,” said Hoffort. “That was step one. We started building the appropriate walls where they were required to house the unit after that.”
After the new walls went up, the room was outfitted with lead lining, to insulate the rest of the hospital from the radiation that the machine produces when in use. As of early this week, a pad upon which the CT scan will sit was in place, and painting was completed. Work on a nearby separate operation booth, and the necessary electrical equipment are also nearing completion.
On the progress as a whole, Hoffort concluded, “It’s rounding into shape really nicely.”
