(Photo: AHS)

By Troy Gillard

$850,000 donation helps to advance care

New x-ray unit up and running in Sylvan Lake

Jan 25, 2021 | 12:05 PM

Alberta Health Services says the installation of a new digital radiographic X-ray unit at the Sylvan Lake Advanced Ambulatory Care Service is now complete and local residents are now benefitting from the new technology.

AHS says the new unit reduces the need for patients to travel to larger centres, and improves the speed, accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis and treatment.

Funding for the equipment came from an $850,000 donation from local residents Stephen and Jacqueline Wuori, who partnered with the Sylvan Lake and Area Urgent Care Committee to coordinate their gift.

“This generous donation from the Wuori family is a testament to the strength and compassion of Albertans,” said Devin Dreeshen, MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake. “I’m impressed when innovative thinkers work together to bring advanced health equipment to our communities, ultimately building a strong and healthy Alberta for years to come.”

“It is truly exciting to see this new equipment go into service for the benefit of the Sylvan Lake community and surrounding area,” Stephen and Jacqueline Wuori say in a statement. “Everything has gone smoothly and we appreciate the co-operative relationship we have had with the Urgent Care Committee and Alberta Health Services.”

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Unlike the facility’s previous X-ray machine, AHS says the new unit has the ability to perform image stitching, which connects multiple X-ray images together to create one high-resolution image, making it especially beneficial to patients with scoliosis and those in need of orthopedic surgery on a knee or hip, as local and area patients no longer have to travel to Red Deer or Olds.

“This new technology will reduce the time it takes to gather images and send them to a physician for review. That means patients will receive results sooner than with the previous machine,” says Valerie Thompson, Area Director, Lacombe, Ponoka and Red Deer Counties. “Alberta Health Services is extremely grateful for this generous donation. It isn’t just an investment in healthcare, it’s an investment in the entire community.”

About 900 X-rays are performed monthly at the facility.

“The Sylvan Lake and Area Urgent Care Committee celebrates this generous financial donation from Stephen and Jacqueline Wuori for the major X-ray upgrade and interior renovation,” says Susan Samson, Chair, Sylvan Lake and Area Urgent Care Committee. “Our community and surrounding areas will benefit greatly from the Wuoris’ generosity.”

(With file from AHS media release)