Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundations funds more medical equipment to help benefit northern communities

The new equipment will provide northern residents quicker access to shoulder surgery and a substantial decrease in wait time.

“Extending the shoulder surgery program to GR Baker hospital in Quesnel is going to have a very positive effect on our local communities,” says Dr. Brad Ashman.

“Not only does it provide us surgeons with state-of-the-art equipment to use, but it increases our OR access which will reduce surgical wait times for our patients and offload cases from UHNBC to allow more complex surgeries to be handled there.”

“We greatly appreciate working with donors to support enhancements in healthcare for surrounding communities,” adds CEO of Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation Judy Neiser.

Another great addition to healthcare up north are two Merlin on Demand Kiosks in Fort St. John Hospital and Mills Memorial in Terrace.

Photo courtesy Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation

The Merlin on Demand remote monitoring kiosks will allow St. Jude Cardiac implanted Electronic Device patients to transmit the device data in schedule follow up checks similar to what happens during in-person visits. The device data is loaded into a secure system that can be accessed via the patients’ healthcare providers.

Also, if a patient presents to Emergency department due to shock like symptoms related to the implanted device, these kiosks could be used to interrogate the device remotely to determine whether the patients needs to be transferred to another hospital or could be dischared if stable.

“Making a difference to wait times, adding services, and increasing OR times through the purchase of additional equipment is key to moving forward for better health outcomes for residents of northern B.C.”

by Greg Fry

Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundations funds more medical equipment to help benefit northern communities

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