November 22, 2003

Shown here, members of the foundation and the Cumberland Health Authority receive a tour of the nw equipment on Tuesday. They are (in no particular order) foundation members Jean Miller and Margie Smith, Cumberland Health Authority President Bruce Saunders, Cumberland Health Authority chief executive officer Bruce Quigley, foundation chairperson Phyllis Cameron, ultra sound technologist Kathy Smith, Dr. David Toms, radiologist; and Sandra Rose, manager of the diagnostic imaging department.

Hospital receives new equipment - Jennifer Dempsey - The Citizen
UPPER NAPPAN - The diagnostic imaging department of the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre has been the recipient of an essential piece of medical equipment thanks to the hospital foundation.

The foundation recently funded the purchase of a new ultrasound unit valued at nearly $282,000. It has in operation since the end of August and according to radiologist Dr. David Toms and diagnostic imaging department manager Sandra Rose, they simply couldn't be happier about their recent acquisition. He described it as a high end, state-of-the-art piece of equipment which will significantly improve the quality of imaging, particularly small part imaging, currently being offered at the health care centre.

"The image quality has been improved significantly," added ultra-sound technologist Kathy Smith. "The quality has been vastly improved."

"We're very thankful to the foundation," added Dr. Toms. And while the ultrasound equipment had been at the top of the department's wish list, the time had come to put the old unit to rest. In fact, the bottom line was that the new equipment became an absolutely necessity in order for the service to continue to be offered at the health care facility.

The ultrasound unit is the department;s most used piece of equipment and is utilized for a variety of different purposes including obstetrics, abdominal, breast and skeletal imaging to name just a few. "So it's in great demand," Dr. Toms went on to say.

On-site instruction was provided at the time the unit was installed and Dr. Toms said he and his staff are still trying to familiarize themselves with the new and improved imaging which amongst other things, provides them with a much better view of the fetal heart.

A second significantly smaller and much more portable ultrasound unit is being purchased by the Light the Way Campaign which officially kicks-off this Sunday, Nov.23, which carries a price tag of around $50,000. Dr. Toms stressed the importance of having a second unit on hand in the department, particularly one that can be easily moved around from department to department in order to meet patient needs.

The hospital foundation recently purchased a state-of-the-art ultrasound unit for the diagnostic imaging department of the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre carrying a price tag of about $282,000. The money was raised through a variety of foundation initiatives.