CT exams continue to improve care for Nelson area residents

Thanks to fundraising efforts of the Kootenay Lake Hospital Foundation, ten years ago the hospital in Nelson started providing CT exams as part of their health-care services. And they’ve never looked back. 

In the first year of service, 2,300 CT exams were performed. Ten years later, the number of exams has doubled to more than 5,000 exams done annually. 

CT, or computerized tomography, is a type of medical scan that helps diagnose appendicitis, cancer, stroke, trauma, chest infections and many other conditions that require more detailed images than a regular x-ray can provide. They also play an important role in cancer care and emergency medicine.

"I am so thankful to the forward thinkers who fought for the addition of a CT to our hospital and prepared our facility to deliver a consistently excellent standard of medical care," said Dr. James Wiedrick, chief of staff at the hospital. "I cannot imagine practicing emergency medicine in 2021 without an on-site CT scanner."

After 18 months of fundraising, the Kootenay Lake Hospital Foundation raised almost $1.5 million to help bring this critical service to Nelson. 

“Everyone in the community was involved in one way or another. Whether it was buying raffle tickets, collecting bottles, donating jars of pennies and birthday money. The entire community really came together in a way I’ve never seen before,” said Bryna Idler, executive director of the Foundation.

Not only has the number of exams increased over the years, but residents are able to have more complex procedures done closer to home thanks to the addition of medical staff like radiologist Dr. Dave Williams.  

To learn more about this type of medical scan, check out the CT scans service listing page on www.InteriorHealth.ca

_{Pictured above: CT Techs Matt Brind’Amour and Tineke Reese, Deb Creaser (Medical Imaging Manager), Dr. Dave Williams (Radiologist)}