By Colleen Smith

Battlefords Union Hospital welcomes donations for radiothon today

May 18, 2016 | 11:07 AM

UPDATE: The radiothon raised more than $451,000 as of 6 p.m. Donations are still being welcomed at the BUH Foundation.

It’s a busy day at the Battlefords Union Hospital, where people are calling in from all over the Battlefords and surrounding area to donate for a great cause.

“The Bigger Picture” radiothon is being held from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, May 18 in the hopes of raising $600,000 for the purchase of a new CT scanner for the hospital’s medical imaging department.

Cheryl Mitchell, Director of Medical Imaging said her department can benefit greatly from a new CT scanner and said an updated machine can help seek out the diagnosis to certain medical conditions much more quickly.

“As technology advances, it’s more important to keep up with that. The technology we have is 10 to 12 years old. Ten years in a digital environment is 100 years of anything else,” Mitchell said.

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Mitchell added she personally knows the benefits of having a working CT scanner in a hospital close by and what effects it can have on a patient. A cancer survivor herself, she knows firsthand a regular session of CT scanning is essential to keeping her disease at bay.

“I’ve had CTs for the last four years; I’ve had kidney cancer. And so just following it up to make sure it’s not coming back –and knowing that I could do it in North Battleford is amazing. And when my grandchildren come to visit, it’s there for them,” Mitchell said.

James Jones is one resident who came to the hospital to make a cash donation. For him, knowing a working CT scanner can be accessed at BUH is a relief. He said the equipment is an advantage for the elderly as they wouldn’t have to commute to the big cities to get the assistance they require.

“My mom broke her hip and shoulder and she had to get it looked after in Saskatoon. It’s a good thing to have the technology improve here.” Jones said.

The new CT scanner will be able to process medical images at one 25th of a second with a lower radiation dose. The new scanner can also provide doctors with 3D imaging in sharper resolution to procure a quicker prognosis.

Email: colleen.smith@jpbg.ca

Twitter: ColleenAJSmith