The CAT that the community backed is on its last legs.
The CAT scanner at St. Mary’s Hospital that was purchased with donations by the public in 2007 has been repeatedly breaking down, signalling the need for a new one.
“It took us all by surprise,” said vice chair of the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation Gerry Latham this week. “The lifespan apparently of today’s CT scanner is seven to 10 years and we were just on the cusp of seven years. It started to cause problems where they were losing down time from repairs. Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) approached us with the belief that it needed to be replaced at that time. That was back in October of 2013, so it’s a long process.”
Latham said the foundation looked at all potential funding options before stepping up to fund $450,000 of the cost for a new CAT scanner, pegged at $732,436.
“We didn’t have to go out and do a huge campaign for this, as the community knows. We just took it from our regular fundraising and donations that come in,” Latham said. “We have a golf tournament, we also get donations on a regular basis from families and patients and from generous members of the community. We also have been able to receive funds through bequeaths. And when we looked at our flow of cash and what we had, we felt that we could do this.”
The St. Mary’s Health Care/Hospital Auxiliary also pledged $200,000 for the new CAT scanner, according to president Vicky Forest.
“That $200,000 is what was left over from the Back the CAT campaign and that was put in a reserve and left with the foundation for repairs or whatever was needed and we needed a new one first so we said ‘use it for that,’” Forest said.
The remaining $82,436 needed for a new scanner will come from VCH, representatives said at a Feb. 25 hospital district meeting.
Latham noted the old CAT scanner has been well used on the Coast and that the new scanner will be an improvement for patients and staff.
“It’s faster imaging, which would improve patient input and volume, which would mean that we could do more patients because we’re able to take the scan faster. It’s a lower dose of radiation, which is very positive for the person and it’s a 64 slice versus the current 32 slice,” Latham said.
According to VCH the average number of CAT scans preformed at St. Mary’s Hospital is about 5,500 a year.
