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Newmarket , Ontario – February 4, 2005 - Southlake Regional Health Centre has received notification from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care that $3 million would be made available for the purchase of a new MRI machine. This new, more advanced technology will allow the Hospital to perform an additional 1,800 scans per year.

This funding is over and above the $692,000 in one-time funding recently made available to Southlake as part of the provincial government’s Wait Time Strategy. Specifically, this one-time funding will be used for 30 more breast cancer surgeries, 20 more gastro-intestinal cancer surgeries, 59 more hip and knee joint replacement surgeries, and 220 more MRI hours all to be completed by March 31, 2005.

The new MRI at Southlake will replace an older 1997 model machine and will be one of seven new machines purchased across Ontario. The new, more powerful machine will increase productivity by 20 percent and will create clearer images. This will reduce wait times for patients, provide physicians with expanded diagnosis capabilities and improve patient comfort. The new machine also allows for new cardiac diagnostic procedures to be performed, thereby enhancing the service offered within Southlake’s Regional Cardiac Care Program.

“The wait time for a non-urgent MRI can be up to 12 months,” says Gary Ryan, Director, Diagnostic Imaging at Southlake. “With the funding for additional procedures and the opening of new MRI suites at Markham-Stouffville and York Central hospitals we have reduced our wait times to 4 months. Once the new machine is installed, we expect that wait times at Southlake for a non-urgent MRI will be down to 2 months.”

The increase in one-time funding for cancer surgeries is intended to reduce the wait times and improve access to quality surgery in Ontario. Cancer Care Ontario prioritized the areas in the province with the greatest need for increased surgeries and as a result, Southlake has received funding to perform 50 more cancer surgeries than in the previous year.

“This funding will make a real difference to the people who live in our area,” says Dan Carriere, President & CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre. “York Region’s cancer incidence is increasing much faster than the provincial average and people can sometimes wait up to six weeks between biopsy and surgery. We know from our patients and their family members that waiting is very stressful and frustrating.”

Southlake’s surgical teams are already the busiest and among the most efficient in Ontario with a 4 – 7 day length of stay following hip and knee total joint replacement surgery compared with a 10 – 15 day length of stay in some other hospitals. People are waiting as long as 18 months for hip and knee replacement surgeries. Southlake has opened up additional operating room time and recovery beds to take advantage of this new funding. As a result, 59 people will have their surgery sooner and will get back on their feet and free of pain.

“Southlake is very pleased to be a partner in delivering on the Ministry’s Wait Time Strategy,” declares Mr. Carriere. “In the short-term, this funding will make a big difference in the lives of more than 500 people who live in our community. However, more long-term solutions such as more new equipment and innovative new approaches are needed to truly address the wait time issue.”

Southlake has submitted several innovative proposals to help the Ministry achieve their Wait Time Reduction Strategy:

• The first Rapid Access Diagnostic Unit (RADU) in southern Ontario has been proposed for Southlake. This RADU will reduce wait times for diagnostic tests, reduce the number of appointments required during the diagnostic process and may improve patient outcomes through early intervention due to screening.
• Increasing in-inpatient resources by transferring Southlake’s Complex Continuing Care Program to a vacant floor in the new nursing home facility and increasing the number of acute care beds would allow Southlake surgery teams to increase the number of surgeries conducted each year and reduce surgical wait times.
• York Region’s lung cancer rate is projected to be more than double the provincial lung cancer rate by 2007. Southlake is the largest community hospital provider of thoracic surgery in our area, with Ministry support this program could be rapidly expanded and developed into a Regional Program, thus further reducing wait times and providing medical care closer to home.
• Replacing the Hospital’s first and now outdated cardiac catheterization laboratory with a new state-of-the-art digital lab will result in more patients being seen and treated sooner for eart disease. The lab was originally installed in 1998.
• To increase productivity by more than 20%, the Hospital is eager to replace its existing CT Scanner, which was installed in 1988. This advanced technology is capable of taking 64 images in the same amount of time that it currently requires to take one image. The capabilities of this new technology will greatly support the Hospital’s diagnostic capabilities, especially in relation to its thoracic surgery program.

Southlake Regional Health Centre is a full service Hospital with a regional, clinically advanced focus. The Hospital completed the second phase of its $180 million dollar expansion project in June 2004 with the opening of a new six-story building and a new emergency department. When complete, the entire facility will cover 540,000 square feet, house 421 patient beds and will provide specialized services closer to home.

Southlake is home to no less than five regional programs. Pending final approval of our regional cancer centre, Southlake will be the only non-teaching hospital in southern Ontario to offer such a broad range of programs in a community setting.

Southlake Regional Health Centre also has a strategic alliance with Southlake Residential Care Village, a long-term care facility. Opened in December 2004, this impressive, new five-storey building houses 192 long-term care beds.

Southlake is proud to have a team of more than 1,800 employees, 250 physicians and over 500 volunteers. Combined with its commitment to provide the best care possible to its friends and neighbours, the hospital’s goal is to make Southlake synonymous with health care excellence.

Southlake has just been named a “pacesetter” hospital – one of only 31 hospitals in Ontario to be recognized and rewarded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as a ‘balanced hospital’.

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