On Monday the first patient at the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) will be scanned with the brand new state of the art low dose radiation CT scanner.

Paul Heinrich, NBRHC President and CEO says CTs are an important diagnostic tool, used in both urgent and outpatient cases. “As we have new services and increasing patient load, we now see more patients referred for these tests,” says Heinrich. “With the addition of a new CT scanner it will help reduce wait time and provide patients with more advanced levels of care.”

Radiologist Dr. Jeff Hodge says the addition of the second CT scanner will both improve access to care while attempting to reduce wait times. “Many patients will require a CT scan during their time in hospital,” Dr. Hodge explains. “Trying to schedule scans for Emergency and admitted inpatients around already scheduled outpatients can create a backlog, and that’s when the wait times go up.” With two scanners operational, Dr. Hodge says they will be able to accommodate more patients by having one scanner more dedicated to inpatients and emergency patients; and the other more dedicated for outpatients and procedures.

Other improvements that will be seen with the new scanner are a reduced dose of radiation compared to the previous generation scanner it replaces; imaging is taken and shared with the radiologist more quickly; improved quality of images and the machine itself is more comfortable for the patient.

The second scanner will further the Health Centre’s cancer screening opportunities and ability to perform more procedures including biopsies to diagnose cancer. A second scanner is also critical for 24/7 care when one machine is out of service.

This new piece of diagnostic equipment is possible because of the more than $2 million in community donations.

With the addition of another CT scanner, our team at NBRHC anticipates performing over 20,000 scans in our first year.

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Contact:

Kim McElroy
Manager, Communications
North Bay Regional Health Centre
communications@nbrhc.on.ca
705-474-8600 x. 3130

Thanks to a significant investment from the province, the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) is excited to be embarking on a unique partnership with the Alzheimer Society Sudbury-Manitoulin North Bay & Districts to improve the quality of care and support for persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as well as their care partners.

The provincial government announced an investment of $2.04 million to help ease hospital pressures in Nipissing, part of a $90 million province-wide investment to help ease alternate level of care (ALC) pressures.

Paul Heinrich, NBRHC President and CEO says bed pressures affect flow across the entire Health Centre. The closure of the 66-bed Lady Isabelle Nursing home caused the Health Centre’s ALC numbers to jump dramatically from 7.5% to 25%. “Sometimes called a ‘patient flow crisis’, these are situations where the Health Centre sees an increase of patients coming in through our Emergency Department (ED) with no available beds to admit them,” Heinrich explains. “These are common in health care and typically last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks—however NBRHC has been experiencing significant bed pressures since the summer of 2017.”

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli announced the local breakdown for the 14 bed transitional unit:

• 10 bed unit for high risk older adults with complex needs who require a restorative period in a safe place with a view to returning to a home like environment within the community;
• 4 bed short stay/respite program available for overnight care in partnership with the Alzheimer Society Sudbury-Manitoulin North Bay & Districts
• Specialized Day Program operated by the Alzheimer Society will have capacity for up to 12 participants daily, 5 days a week

Long wait lists for long-term care and limited caregiver supports can lead to increased use of the Emergency Department to meet situational crises. Often this results in the use of acute care resources to address housing, respite, and transitional care needs.

Tanya Nixon, VP Mental Health says transitional care encompasses a broad range of services and environments designed to promote the safe and timely passage of patients between levels of health care and across care settings. “High-quality transitional care is especially important for older adults with multiple chronic conditions and complex therapeutic regimens, as well as for their family caregivers,” Nixon says.

“These essential programs will help to improve the quality of care and support services for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as well as their care partners in our community who are living the dementia journey,” says Stéphanie Leclair, Executive Director Alzheimer Society Sudbury-Manitoulin North Bay & Districts.

At this early stage there is no timeline for implementation but we look forward to sharing more details as they become available.

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