Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation funds equipment upgrades for North of Superior Healthcare Group’s Regional Cancer Care program
As part of Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation’s (TBRHSF) dedication to advance health care in Northwestern Ontario, a Pentax Colonoscope Package was purchased for the North of Superior Healthcare (NOSH) group’s Regional Cancer Care Northwest’s Systemic Therapy Treatment Program at the Wilson Memorial Hospital site in Marathon.
Regional Cancer Care Northwest allows for patients across Northwestern Ontario to access high-quality patient care closer to home. Although patients may have to travel to Thunder Bay for radiation therapy and other treatment services, the 13 satellite locations provide access to chemotherapy and cancer prevention and screening services at partnering hospitals throughout Northwestern Ontario. The Foundation helps to provide equipment to these Hospitals so that patients can receive some of their care in their local Hospital rather than travel to Thunder Bay, which is more convenient, comfortable, and economical.
The existing colorectal cancer screening equipment at the Wilson Memorial site was in need of upgrades – aging equipment was starting to break down and repairs were becoming costly. With surgeons travelling three hours to perform these scopes, it is imperative that equipment remains functional at all times. There is no backup equipment if a monitor or scope goes down, and the existing equipment was temperamental and unreliable.
“Thanks to the grant funded by the TBRHSF, we were able to purchase two new colonoscopes and a new radiance monitor for the Wilson Memorial Hospital site. This new equipment will help us perform around 200 scopes per year, and our screening program helps prevent patients from having to travel to Thunder Bay for these procedures. This is especially important as colonoscopy prep is definitely more comfortable in your own home than in a hotel room,” says Janet Gobeil, Chief Nursing Officer, NOSH Healthcare Group. “We cannot thank the Foundation enough – we rely on these grants to keep our program running.”
“A grant request was submitted last year by the NOSH Healthcare Group for new equipment for their colorectal cancer screening program, and it was so important that we were able to fund this upgrade to help patients stay closer to home for their scopes. The Foundation was able to fund $43,784 to purchase the new scopes and monitor, which would not have been able to happen without our generous donors and 50/50 supporters,” says Parker Jones, Chair, Board of Directors, TBRHSF. “The Foundation has approved $198,200 in funding to Regional Cancer Care Northwest’s Systemic Therapy Treatment Program at the Wilson Memorial Hospital site in Marathon since 2009. The Foundation grants are important not only for the Hospital in Thunder Bay, but for smaller regional hospitals – helping provide closer-to-home care for patients across Northwestern Ontario.”
Each year, Grants are submitted by different departments of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and its programs located throughout the region, and reviewed by a grant committee. The success of the Thunder Bay 50/50 allowed for more grants to be funded in 2021 than ever before, and equipment was purchased and improvements were made not only to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, but also to hospitals in Marathon, Terrace Bay, Fort Frances, Dryden, Kenora and Sioux Lookout.