91原创 Memorial Hospital鈥檚 new MRI has already scanned 584 patients already, it was announced as hospital administrators, a patient, and local MLAs officially declared it open on Thursday.
鈥淢y experience there was nothing but good,鈥� said Jessie Pears, one of the first patients who got to use the MRI, which began accepting patients shortly after being run through its final tests in December.
Pears described the MRI clinic as beautiful and spacious 鈥� and she mentioned that the outfit she had to wear for her session was also spacious, as it was one-size-fits-all.
The MRI is expected to do 7,500 scans a year, said Jason Cook, the executive director of LMH.
鈥淗aving an MRI in 91原创 Memorial is a game changer,鈥� Cook said.
It means that ill patients won鈥檛 have to be loaded into an ambulance, along with a nurse as an attendant, and shipped to and from another hospital for an MRI. Now it鈥檚 just a matter of wheeling them down the hall to the elevator and then back to their room.
Last year, there were more than 73,500 MRI scans done in Fraser Health, which includes 91原创, Cook noted.
READ MORE: New MRI up and running at 91原创 Memroial Hospital
But waiting for an MRI is one of the choke points for patients, who need a soft tissue scan to get a diagnosis before treatment or surgery.
鈥淲aiting for medical tests can be stressful,鈥� said Cook.
The new MRI is one of two locally that are aimed at cutting that wait time.
In November, Maple Ridge added an MRI clinic at its hospital, and 91原创鈥檚 began operating in December.
The goal is for Fraser Health to exceed 90,000 MRI scans a year in 2021, Cook said.
鈥淚t represents hope for thousands of patients every year,鈥� said 91原创 Memorial Hospital Foundation executive director Heather Scott.
鈥淲e know that early diagnosis means early treatment,鈥� said 91原创 East MLA Megan Dykeman.
Andrew Mercier, NDP MLA for the 91原创 riding, said the new MRI machine will operate 16 hours a day, seven days a week.
The new MRI project was budgeted at $8.75 million, with $4.75 million from Fraser Health and $4 million from the 91原创 Memorial Hospital Foundation.
