Residents of the West Kootenay-Boundary region can look forward to a new, permanent medical resonance imaging machine at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital.
The project is set to begin this August, with a target completion date of June 2028. The estimated project cost is $35.9 million.
With the new MRI comes a 5,200-square-foot building expansion and 4,900-square-foot basement, next to the current medical imaging department, to host the machine and its suite of services.
The permanent MRI will be faster, with the ability to perform more complex care exams. It will run 16 hours a day, seven days a week, increasing KBRH’s annual number of scans from 4,400 to 7,000. This is about a 60 per cent increase, Todd Mastel of Interior Health told the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District (WKBRHD) board at its June 26 meeting. Mastel is the corporate director of business operations.
The new machine will replace a 20-year-old mobile MRI that is at the end of its life. This MRI used to travel weekly between KBRH, Penticton Regional Hospital, and East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook. When Penticton and Cranbrook received permanent machines, the mobile MRI stayed at KBRH.
However, it’s wearing out and won’t last the three years it will take to complete the expansion, said Mastel. IH will purchase a new mobile MRI, fully funded by the government, for KBRH to use in the meantime. When construction finishes, it will be relocated elsewhere in IH to help other communities.
Mobile MRIs are located in trailers, which can be difficult to access, said Lannon de Best, executive director of clinical operations at IH. A permanent machine will increase accessibility for bedbound patients.
Accessibility will also be increased with a new parking plan, said Mastel. Though 14 stalls will be lost where the expansion will be, 19-23 new stalls will be added and gravel sections of the parking lot will be paved.
IH will need to recruit more staff to keep up with the MRI’s extended hours, said Mastel, but the new Provincial Rural Retention Incentive, effective April 1, aims to encourage healthcare workers to move to – and stay in – rural and remote communities.
The WKBRHD board agreed to contribute $13.945 million to the project. Staff will prepare a bylaw for the board to make the final approval at its next meeting.
The KBRH Foundation for Health is also keen to contribute to the project, said Mastel. IH will update the board as funding from the foundation is firmed up.
Extreme weather prep
Interior Health is taking measures to prepare for extreme weather events this summer.
“This is provincially driven activity, that health authorities – in conjunction with municipalities and regional districts – have a responsibility to ensure that there are plans in place for extreme heat and extreme cold,” said de Best.
De Best said recent meetings with municipal and regional district staff have been positive. Plans are being put in place for cooling sites to keep residents safe in the case of extreme weather events this summer.
IH is also preparing for wildfires. The clinical operations team, in partnership with health emergency management partners, are working together to prepare emergency sites and develop action plans to protect patients and residents in case of interface fires and wildfires.
Kidney care clinic
De Best also reported that the first kidney care clinic in Nelson in early June was a success.
Six people accessed the services and offered positive comments on their experiences. De Best said they also expressed appreciation for having services closer to home.
A kidney care clinic does not offer dialysis services. It provides education, counselling, and medical care to help slow or stop the rate of kidney decline, to prevent the need for dialysis.
Interior Health will offer a second clinic this summer, and another in autumn.
