Local hospital unveils new MRI technology

Hospital executives, local dignitaries, and Sylvia Jones, the province’s deputy premier and health minister, unveiled a new MRI machine at GBGH.

Hospital executives, local dignitaries and Sylvia Jones, the province’s deputy premier and health minister, celebrated the opening of new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology on Friday at Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH).

The MRI machine is the first of 49 new MRI machines that are set to be unveiled across the province.

“Today is a celebration of what is possible when a community comes together,” said Matthew Lawson, president and CEO of GBGH. “The opening of our MRI is a significant achievement that will have a lasting impact on patient care. With this addition, we are eliminating barriers to essential diagnostic imaging and ensuring that residents can access timely and critical healthcare services without having to travel far from home.”

“Our government is making record investments in health care to connect more people to the care they need, closer to home,” said Jones. “By investing in Georgian Bay General Hospital’s first-ever MRI machine, our government is taking another step to make it easier and faster families in the region to access key diagnostic services in their community, for years to come.”

The GBGH Foundation funded the MRI machine by reaching its $4 million target within two years.

The hospital stated that the new addition is expected to reduce wait times both locally and across the region, as patients will no longer need to be placed on MRI waitlists at facilities in Barrie or Orillia.

According to GBGH, the new machine will allow for more than 4,000 scans to be performed each year, and the hospital is officially able to accept referrals.