MRI machine for STEGH

Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Jeff Yurek announced Thursday, Oct. 28, that St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital would finally be getting the provincial funding it needs to purchase, install and operate a magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) machine.

STEGH in recent years has been designated as a “stroke centre,” able to deliver specialized services to patients that could greatly reduce the consequences of a stroke, he said. But it hadn’t been equipped with the MRI it needed to do so.

As a result, local patients have had to be transported to London or Woodstock for MRI imaging and stroke treatment.

Obtaining the funding for the new MRI at STEGH “has been a long haul,” he said, but he was pleased to announce it had come through.

Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Karen Davies said STEGH had been preparing for a long time for the MRI machine, and she promised to move quickly on the fundraising to help acquire the $2.5-million machine and a similar amount to renovate space for it.

She expected the MRI would be in operation within a year.

(AE/Rob Perry)