South Peace Historical Society

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  • Table of Contents

    • Part 1: First Nations of the Peace River Region
    • Part 2: The Fur Trade Era
    • Part 3: Transportation and Communication
    • Part 4: Old Timers and the Price of Land
    • Part 5: Dawson Creek: The Story of the Community
    • Part 6: Mysteries, Adventures and Indian Legends
    • Part 7: Arts, Crafts and Recreation
    • Part 8: Agriculture
    • Part 9: Church Histories
    • Part 10: Schools
    • Part 11: Health Care
    • Part 12: Industries and Enterprises
    • Part 13: Policing the Peace
    • Part 14: Pouce Coupe, Rolla, and Other South Peace Communities
    • Part 15: Chetwynd and the Fort St. John Area
    • Part 16: The Alberta Peace
    • Part 17: Natural History of the Peace River Region
    • Part 18: Interviews with Old Timers
    • Part 19: Remembering Our Veterans

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BN11-06: Grande Prairie Getting MRI Units

Recent History – 1999

Jan. 11, 1999, By Mike Leschart, Daily News Staff

Three new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units in Alberta hospitals should see the province’s dangerously long waiting list shrink — along with allowing Peace patients to have scans done locally.

Hospitals in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grande Prairie have received $1 million each in Alberta lottery money to go toward MRI machines, meaning Dawson Creek and area residents will no longer require a 500 kilometer trip to Edmonton for MRI scans.

According to Elmer Borstad, Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital Foundation in Grande Prairie, the waiting lists for MRI scans in Alberta can reach six, nine or even 12 months.

“If a person has to wait that long, sometimes they’re falling between the cracks,” he said. “If they had a tumor or something it could be too late by then.”

MRIs are scanning machines that operate on magnetic fields and radio waves instead of x-rays. They produce extremely clear images of the inner-workings of the human body, and can allow doctors to be sure of a patient’s ailment rather than relying on a diagnosis of symptoms.

While their most commonly known application is scanning for brain tumors, they are also used to see blood vessels around the heart, torn ligaments in legs and soft tissues in the stomach.

Borstad argues that MRI machines are also essential when recruiting doctors, who are now trained with them in medical schools.

“(The doctors) say, “You let us know when you’ve got an MRI and we’ll be interested in coming north,” Borstad said. “So that tells you the story of how important this piece of equipment is.”

The foundation is still soliciting donations to help fund the new machine, and the renovations it will require. The group is asking for a total of $4 million, of which they are about $60,000 short.

Borstad estimates the equipment — the foundation is currently awaiting proposals from three companies — will cost about $1.5 million. Rebuilding to accommodate the machine will cost another $500,000, and operation during the first year another $1 million. MRI machines need a self-contained room to prevent radio waves from coming in and MRI waves from leaving.

The foundation will also require funds to recover from the project, as Borstad said nearly all money the foundation raises is being funnelled into the MRI project. Anyone wishing to make a donation can contact the foundation at (403) 538-7585.

 

This article is taken from the Peace River Block Daily News, Dawson Creek, with the permission of the publisher. The Daily News retains all rights relating to this material. The information in this article is intended solely for research or general interest purposes.

« BN11-05: Two Appointments to South Peace Health Council

BN11-07: Rotary Housing Project Over Budget »

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