Elected officials and stakeholders were invited for a tour of the region鈥檚 new $2.9-million MRI unit in Terrace today. Northern Health hosted the small, celebratory event at Mills Memorial Hospital to mark a milestone of the diagnostic imaging device鈥檚 500th exam.
鈥淔ive-hundred people is not just a number, that鈥檚 500 people in the Northwest who have been able to receive this important diagnostic service with less travel, and to receive it sooner than they would have before,鈥� said Northern Health鈥檚 Northwest chief operating officer Ciro Panessa.
After a short round of speeches a cake commemorating the 500th exam was cut and shared around the room.
The event was held also in honour of North West Regional Hospital Board鈥檚 commitment to the project, to which it contributed $1.13 million of the total cost.
鈥淭his hospital is really a regional hospital and we鈥檙e proud of the board鈥檚 success on this,鈥� board chair Harry Nyce said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e partnered with the Queen Charlotte Regional District and the Bulkley Valley Regional District, and those directors also worked hard to鈥et the machine here and find the resources to do it.鈥�
After five months of construction and equipment testing, the unit went into operation in late August this year. It is expected to run roughly 2,000 scans within its first year of operation.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud to say over the past few months we鈥檝e had a tremendous impact on patient health throughout the Northwest, all the way from Houston to Haida Gwaii,鈥� said radiologist Dr. Elliot Rapp. 鈥淓veryday we diagnose things like brain tumors and liver masses and ligament damage. Previously this process would take months if not years due to high barriers of access and travel鈥n order to get these diseases diagnosed that we鈥檙e now able to do right here in Terrace.鈥�
Terrace鈥檚 MRI project is one of three within the Northern Health district, which includes a new unit at Fort St. John Hospital and a replacement unit at the University of Northern BC Prince George. 鈥淚t鈥檚 effectively tripled our capacity for MRI procedures across the North,鈥� Panessa said. 鈥淏ut most importantly it鈥檚 brought this service much closer to home for residents in the Northwest.鈥�
