New CT Scanner for NBRHC Launches Cancer Care Close to Home Campaign

Today the North Bay Regional Health Centre announced the start of a new community campaign to fund the Cancer Care Close to Home Campaign.  Leading this community effort, the Campaign Cabinet announced the Terry McKerrow Cat Scan Operating Fund as the Leadership Donor that has pledged $1 million.

“The hospital was able to move forward with the purchase of this CT scanner because the community indicated it is a priority worthy of its support,” said Paul Heinrich, NBRHC President and CEO. “The announcement of this leadership gift is significant, as the purchase of advanced medical equipment is the responsibility of the community and the hospital, together.”

For more than 25 years, the McKerrow Fund has been supporting our community’s medical equipment with financial support starting with our first CT scanner in 1995.

At the unveiling of the new CT scanner today, the Foundation announced the Campaign Cabinet will be led by Honorary Campaign co-chairs businessman Ted Thomson and Barbara Minogue—serving in place of her late husband Peter. Thomson and Minogue are both well known for their leadership and philanthropy and both have been champions of our hospital for decades.

Minogue says it is an honour to be leading this campaign for Cancer Care Close to Home. “Cancer touches us all and we need to ensure our hospital is ready to care for us and our loved ones, when we need it most,” she said.  “With a history of leadership support, the Terry McKerrow Fund Board is launching this campaign and motivating our community,” Minogue added.

Todd Wilcox, North Bay Hydro CEO, had personal experience with the reality of travelling for medical care when his wife Anne was diagnosed with cancer. “Living in the north means we often need to travel for medical care,” Wilcox said. “My wife, Anne experienced a lot of pain due to her cancer. Travelling was hard on her and became more difficult as her cancer progressed.” Wilcox says having all her CT scans and some of her follow up care in North Bay saved her much unnecessary discomfort and gave her peace of mind.

NBRHC hopes to secure LHIN approval for a second CT scanner in the near future.  “Having a second CT scanner will not only allow for safer and more accurate scans, it will allow us to double our capacity to provide patients with timely scans,” said Dr. Jeff Hodge, Radiologist at NBRHC.  “With a second CT scanner NBRHC will introduce new programs such as screening for lung cancer and specialized procedures such as biopsies. Early detection can be life-saving for certain types of cancer. When cancer is found early, it’s often easier to treat,” he added.

The Campaign Cabinet is focused on raising $6 million to support medical equipment for cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow up care. This year, more than 1200 people in our district will be diagnosed with cancer. For most people, their journey with cancer begins here in North Bay. It’s important to help ensure most, if not all of their care is provided close to home to minimize the hardship of travel.