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Awards
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Business
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Issue 38
Saskatchewan’s
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at wells
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Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240 the Jan. down the ice at Abel Fradette glide Zinchuk Jeremy Seitz and by Brian Colin Tajcnar, left, Page A15. Photo related story on sources Ltd. See Agricultural Equipment
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Take Off Eh! This flock of Canada Geese took flight from a field north of Estevan in mid-January when they were caught by the camera. The geese in this part of the province usually stay over winter, dining on leftover grain in local fields and spending time on Boundary Dam and lagoon waterways. Norm Park photo.
Launch date set for CT scanner By Norm Park normpark@estevanmercury.ca
The CT scanner that has been installed at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan will be put into service on Feb. 22 said the hospital’s executive director Greg Hoffort. The scanner was to have been activated for patients earlier, but stalled contract negotiations with a supplier of radiology services set the launch date back. That issue has now
been settled with Mayfair Diagnostics of Regina having signed an agreement to provide those services for St. Joe’s and the Sun Country Health Region. “The training for the two CT technicians is complete,” said Hoffort, adding that additional training for technicians in the future, is ongoing, which will allow for an extension of services for the new machine going forward. He said a radiologist from Mayfair will be on site
in Estevan for the launch week and the contract agreement calls for a radiologist presence at the hospital for one week every quarter. Otherwise the CT images will be read in Regina or by Mayfair’s radiologists in Calgary, depending on the need and the timing. “The additional supplies have been ordered and GE (General Electric, the supplier of the scanner) trainers and experts will also be on hand for the launch,” said Hoffort, who added that
actual patient flow to the scanner will probably begin the next day. “In the meantime, all staff and physicians are being updated regarding the supplies, materials and when the scanner will be made available and how emergency situations will be handled,” said Hoffort. The executive director said it has taken awhile to complete all the details, which changed the launch date from an original December 2015 startup, but
that has given the teams time to complete training and cover all details. During the Sun Country Health Region’s board of directors meeting on Jan. 27, Marga Cugnet, the CEO for the health region, noted the hospital renovation costs and most of the purchase costs involved in the $1.2 million project, have been borne by the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation. She also reported that a recent board-to-board meeting involving board
members from the hospital, which is an affiliate facility in the health region, and the Sun Country board, went well with a positive exchange of ideas regarding budget challenges, appointments and future planning. Sun Country board chairwoman Marilyn Charlton said it was a positive exchange that included St. Joseph’s chairman Don Kindopp, as well as Hoffort and the other hospital board members. (Photo on A2)
Birth numbers climb at St. Joe’s hospital Obstetric services at St. Joseph’s Hospital continue to expand in terms of scope of services thanks to well-trained medical and support staff. The hospital reported that 323 babies were born in Estevan’s hospital in 2015, an increase of about two dozen compared with an average of about 300 in any other given year when full maternity services were available. “It definitely was an increase over 2014,” said Greg Hoffort, the hospital’s
executive director. “The majority of the babies born here are from Estevan area families and the immediate area plus a few from Weyburn and its immediate area, so the service is expanding,” he said. With some stability in the system now, Hoffort said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the number of births climb again as families show continued confidence in the service that now also includes full-time ultrasound imaging and a slate of physicians and nurses
trained in delivering procedures. “We had gaps once in awhile before, but now it’s a full service,” said Hoffort. The executive director said he based his comments on the fact that while the local oilpatch has witnessed a downturn with a potential population drop off, it hasn’t seemed to have affected activities and admissions in the medical wards and emergency rooms as well as the obstectrical unit. “It’s not slowing down, even with the economy being what it is right
now,” said Hoffort, adding that was why he predicted the birthing numbers increase again in 2016. On the medical staffing front, Hoffort said there is now some stability on that side of the equation, with a full slate of physicians and a nearly complete list of nursing and support staffers. ‘We are hiring on a continual basis almost as people transition in and out, but we’re pretty stable in all departments at the present time,” he said.
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