HURON-BRUCE — Lisa Thompson, MPP for Huron-Bruce is pleased to announce that through the Ontario Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund, $7,748,621 in support for critical upgrades, repairs and maintenance is being provided for local hospitals.
“With this significant investment, our government is committed to helping patients get the care they need, close to home,” said Thompson. “Investing in critical infrastructure and expanding access to diagnostic care is critical in rural Ontario where so many have to travel long distances to receive these services.”
As part of this investment the following organizations in or near the riding of Huron – Bruce will receive funding:
• Alexandra Marine and General Hospital: $133,552
• Clinton Public Hospital: $516,055
• Grey Bruce Health Services: $1,808,269
• Hanover and District Hospital: $592,926
• Seaforth Community Hospital: $728,183
• South Bruce Grey Health Centre: $692,042
• South Huron Hospital: $2,602,808
• Wingham and District Hospital: $674,786
In addition to the Health Infrastructure Renewal Funds, Thompson also announced in Wingham, Goderich and Kincardine that their respective organization’s applications for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines were approved. This funding will provide the three local Huron-Bruce hospitals with annual operating funding that will result in more convenient access to diagnostic imaging, eliminating the need to travel out of county to receive an MRI.
“Our government is ensuring hospitals across the province have the funds they need to operate their new MRI machines and increase access to diagnostic imaging for people in their communities,” said Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health. “For some communities, this funding means they will have their first-ever MRI machine and residents will have more convenient access to care closer to home.”
This funding is part of the government’s investment of over $20 million to support the operations of 27 new MRI machines in hospitals across Ontario. With more MRI services throughout the province, patients can be diagnosed faster and if needed, begin treatment and follow-up care even sooner.
This funding brings the total investment in operational funding for new MRI machines to $40 million, increasing the government’s 2021-22 commitment to invest $30 million by an additional $10 million to help hospitals increase MRI capacity and services. In total, the province is providing operational funding for 49 new MRI machines in 42 hospitals across the province.
The Ontario government is investing over $300 million in 2022/23 as part of the province’s surgical recovery strategy, bringing the total investment to approximately $880 million over the last three fiscal years.
Kincardine announcement
Thompson made the announcement in Kincardine by joining South Bruce Grey Health Centre’s (SBGHC) virtual Community Information Session Monday evening, Dec. 19, regarding the capital projects underway at the Kincardine hospital.
SBGHC was the first rural hospital in Canada to install a CT scanner, which was installed at the Walkerton hospital, and is now among the first rural hospitals to get an MRI machine.
“Accessing MRI services in a timely fashion in this part of Grey and Bruce counties has been a challenge, and the installation of a new MRI at the Kincardine hospital will provide a tremendous benefit to the Kincardine community, and the larger geography of southern Bruce and Grey counties,” said Michael Barrett, SBGHC’s CEO. “We appreciate the government’s commitment to small, rural hospitals ensuring our communities can now more easily access this important imaging service close to home.”
The MRI is in addition to the upcoming installation of a new computed tomography (CT) scanner at the Kincardine hospital which will become operational for patients in March 2023. SBGHC will now take the necessary steps to incorporate the MRI into the plans for the Kincardine hospital expansion project, and updates will be shared with the community as the plan progresses.
CT and MRI are both specialized medical imaging methods, used to create detailed images of internal body structures which they each achieve in different ways. A CT scan uses ionizing radiation (X-Rays), while MRI uses strong magnetic fields and radio frequency.
A CT is commonly utilized to view boney anatomy, to diagnosing lung pathology, and is presently the modality of choice for cancer diagnosis and follow-up, as well as assess vascular diseases. CT is commonly used to support emergency medicine because most scans take mere minutes.
An MRI excels at evaluating soft tissue and organs particularly neuro anatomy such as brain and spinal cord. Other examples of utilization include ligament and tendons, and breast. Currently, MRI scans take up to 30 minutes to complete with a focus on outpatients with some specialized emergency coverage.
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