SIOUX LOOKOUT – The local hospital foundation is making progress in raising enough money to bring magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the Meno Ya Win Health Centre.
The Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre Foundation has raised about $2 million towards its $7-million goal in the MRI campaign, said Melissa Slade, the foundation’s donor relations and operations coordinator.
Recent donations have come in from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, Hudson Fire Team Association, Knights of Columbus, local Rotarians and Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4373, Slade said.
The foundation has been reaching out to potential donors in Dryden, Ignace, Ear Falls, Red Lake, Pickle Lake and elsewhere, she said.
Information is available at the foundation’s website and Facebook page.
Painless, non-invasive and radiation-free, an MRI scan uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of internal organs and tissues.
Doctors use those images to investigate and diagnose cancer, spinal injuries and other soft-tissue issues.
To get an MRI scan currently, patients in Sioux Lookout and the area served by the Sioux Lookout hospital must travel hundreds of kilometres to Thunder Bay or Winnipeg.
A provincial travel health grant offers financial assistance but those trips usually also entail out-of-pocket expenses, said Slade.
