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For Immediate Release
September 27, 2002
HELP BRING MOBILE MRI TO QUINTE
If you missed the Life page in Thursday's Intelligencer, go to your Recycling bin and dig it out.
For there you will find an incredibly revelvant article that concerns the quality of healthcare for all of Quinte. The story, "Quinte makes a case to have MRI machine" written for the Intelligencer by Gary Buffett, drives home the reasoning behind locating an MRI machine here.
Earlier this year, the Ontario Government changed legislation to allow privately operated Magnetic Resonance Imaging clinics in Ontario. Of course those opposed to two-tier healthcare led the out-cry, which was taken up by the MRI tecnicians who charged that technicians would be drawn from 'real' healthcare concerns to higher pay cheques at privately run clinics where less imperative imaging would be done.
Given the fact that waiting lists for exsisting MRI machines in Kingston frequntly stretch to six months, we find that scenario highly doubtful. This area desperatly needs its own MRI machine. We have a higher senior population, and we have higher incidences of heart diesease and stroke. We need doctors and other health professionals, who are drawn to areas with the newest and best technology.
Ironically, here, where the need is so great, in this very newspaper a local company advertises to inform our readers they can have their MRI needs met across the border in New York State. Quinte MRI is a leading force in creating privately-run MRI clinics, and it can do it at cost-savings other companies can't offer.
Finally, the Ontario governmenthas paved the way for privately-run clincs, as well as providing funding to increase the hours of operation for hospital MRI machines.
Here in our community we have the need, we have the resources, and we have the people who can make it happen.
What are we waiting for?
Why aren't we reading about negotiations between Quinte Healthcare Coroproation and Quinte MRI to bring a clinic here?
According to Bob Kitcher, chairman of the Rural Health Sciences Network and chairman of the Access Centre for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, which is making the case to the Ministry of Health to place one of 20 new MRI machines here, a mobile MRI unit would best serve the 160,000 people of Quinte living in the 7,000 sq. km of Hastings and Prince Edward Counties.
Where there's a will, there's a way.
We know the way...surely we're not lacking the will, are we?
This article was written by the editorial staff at the Belleville Intelligencer, and was printed in a late September 2002 issue.
Thank you to the staff at the Intell for bringing issues like these to the public.
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