Anonymous $1M donation goes toward reducing MRI wait times
An anonymous million-dollar donation will go toward reducing wait times for MRI scans across the province, according to Horizon Health Network.
Shannon Hunter, president and CEO of the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation, said the organization received a Christmas Eve call from a benefactor whose personal experience prompted them to donate $1 million to go toward reducing MRI wait times.
Hunter said the donation did not come with strict conditions.
“The conditions were really around improving access,” she said. “The donor was very much trusting that we would use the donation effectively working with hospital and local health-care leadership.”
Zach Kilburn, Horizon’s interim vice-president of professional services, said the average wait for a non-emergency MRI is about 369 days. He said using this donation, the network plans to hire four full-time technologists for two years, and pay for MRI training for eight employees.
He said the money will also go toward buying software that would help staff process the medical imaging requests that are currently being faxed in.
Kilburn said the increased staffing would add 4,000 MRI appointments each year, marking a 26 per cent increase over the two years.
The shortest wait times at Horizon are in Miramichi, at 89 days, and the longest are in the Upper River Valley at 480 days, Kilburn said.
Individual donors not the solution: radiologist association
Dr. Ania Kielar, president of Canadian Association of Radiologists, said wait times across the country are higher than the recommended 60 days — and New Brunswick’s MRI wait times are some of the highest she’s seen.
“It’s unacceptable,” she said.
She said there is an 11 per cent vacancy rate in radiology positions nationally, and there is also not enough equipment to go around.
She said while donor generosity is helpful, it’s the responsibility of the federal and provincial governments to create a system that works without needing donations.
“As a Canadian I say thank you to that donor,” she said. “At the same time we also need to encourage the government to take a leadership role.”
The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation received a phone call on Christmas Eve from a benefactor whose own experience prompted a massive donation.
She said recruitment and earmarking money for equipment, distributed equitably, is the solution.
She said the danger in relying on donations is that areas with more residents — and more wealthy residents — would start having better services, increasing inequities.
“Obviously, I think this is a step in the right direction, point blank. At the same time, I don’t feel that individuals should have to be the ones funding this,” she said. “I mean, it is a fixable problem. We just need the federal government to take a leadership role.”
Kilburn said Horizon plans on making imaging wait times public on its website as early as next week. He said while some of the wait times are much too long, it’s important to provide transparency.
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