St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Elliot Lake welcomed it's first patient to its CT Scanner earlier this month, days after the long-awaited installation of the new machine.
On Jan. 12, 2021, Sylvain Pitre became the first patient to use the hospital's new state-of-the-art CT Scanner.
He told officials he had previously.booked an appointment for a scan at Health Sciences North, scheduled for next June.
He said it was a pleasant surprise to receive the procedure here at home and a great benefit not to have to wait to make the trip to Sudbury months from now to have it done.
The installation of the Computerized Tomography Scanner (CT) at the hospital was part of the SJGHEL Strategic Plan to increase access to care both in Elliot Lake and surrounding communities.
By having a CT Scanner located in their community, patients and residents of Elliot Lake and surrounding areas are now able to access diagnostics closer to home and reduce the need to travel long distances.
“The new CT Scanner will improve the quality of care and the patient experience by decreasing wait times and allowing physicians to assess more quickly a patient’s condition, determine a diagnosis, and provide necessary treatment or surgery,” Jeremy Stevenson, CEO of St. Joseph’s General Hospital, said.
CT Scanning provides medical information that is different from other imaging examinations (i.e. ultrasound, or Xray). The principle advantages include its ability to rapidly produce images.
The unit provides clear and specific information about the scanned area, and is able to image both a small portion and/or the entire body, during the same procedure.
No other imaging procedure combines all these advantages into a single session.