CT Scanner Announced for South Shore Regional Hospital

The provincial government has approved the purchase of a CT scan unit for the South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater, Health Minister Jim Smith announced today.

The government will pay 75 per cent of the capital cost of the unit, with the remainder being contributed by the South Shore Regional Hospital Foundation.

Victor Maddalena, CEO of the Western Regional Health Board, said the board could not have met the challenge of acquiring the unit without the "co-operation and commitment of the residents of Bridgewater and surrounding areas who are represented through the hospital foundation."

Mr. Maddalena said the regional health board and the provincial government will be responsible for the operating costs of the new equipment.

Dr. Jim Perkin, chair of the regional health board, said the board will move as quickly as possible to put the equipment in place. However, it will take time to carry out renovations needed to house the new unit and to train staff to operate the scanner. Dr. Perkin said the board hopes to have the equipment in operation by April or May of next year.

Roxie Smith, co-chair of the hospital foundation, paid tribute to the many local citizens who have so generously donated to past hospital acquisitions and who will soon be approached to donate to the Capital CT Scan Campaign.

"This new equipment will improve medical services so that our doctors can better serve their patients in a more timely fashion," she said. "By having this new unit in Bridgewater, South Shore residents will save time, travel and worry."

Dr. Smith said the new unit will serve the needs of the almost 65,000 patients who use the South Shore Regional. It will also mean that each of the three regional hospitals in the western region will now have CT scanners.