Red Deer hospital patients are benefiting from seven new pieces of operating room equipment funded through the 2021 Festival of Trees put on by Red Deer Regional Health Foundation.
Manon Therriault, the foundation’s chief executive officer, said the upgraded equipment cost about $535,000 and started arriving in June, with the last one arriving July 29.
“We have some equipment that needed some replacement, but some of it is new. Some of it is things we’ve never had on site before, like the ENT navigation system,” Therriault said.
An ENT navigation system, used to treat chronic sinus infections, nasal polyps and masses, skull base legions, tumor biopsies and infections around the eye, provides a 3D camera image for surgeons to better navigate and avoid damage to the brain.
She said without the equipment, Red Deer has been sending about 30 per cent of patients needing that surgery to Calgary or Edmonton.
“Now that transfer will be significantly decreased because physicians will have the equipment and the confidence to do the surgeries that they should be doing here in Red Deer.”
She said it’s equipment that new medical residents expect, and Red Deer’s ENT equipment is also newer and more advanced than in Calgary and Edmonton.
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The other six pieces of equipment include:
• A laparoscopic ultrasound system to provide outstanding image quality that allows the surgeon to see the tiniest margins of lesions.
• An aspirator to help perform liposuction during plastic surgery.
• An entropy module, which is a sensor is placed on a patient’s forehead undergoing general anesthetic or sedation.
• A phaco emulsification platform that assists in fluid pressure management inside the eye to make cataract procedures safer for patients. It also has advanced ultrasonic cutting capability for difficult cases.
• A nephroscope, which is a medical telescope used to go into a kidney or bladder and view large kidney or bladder stones.
• A lithotripter SE system, used in conjunction with the nepthroscope to remove large kidney stones, which will reduce the number of patients being deferred to Calgary or Edmonton.
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“Given the fact that yet again it wasn’t a typical year, and we had to rely on sponsorship, we’re very grateful that we were able to continue our commitment to fund those seven pieces of equipment,” Therriault said.
She said central Albertans can expect the return of a pre-pandemic format at the 2022 Festival of Trees.
“We’ve seen full-scale events happen this year which is very comforting to see. They were executed successfully and the community really enjoyed them. We look forward to doing the same,” Therriault said.
As the only facility in Alberta Health Services Central Zone with intensive care and coronary care beds, the Red Deer hospital is creating a permanent space for its four coronary care beds that have been located in the intensive care unit.
Beds that were for coronary care in intensive care will become intensive care beds, and four more intensive care beds will be added to increase the number of intensive care beds to 20 from 12.
The 2022 festival will raise money to support the equipment needs in these new spaces by providing CPAP/BI-PAP machines, ultrasound systems, Glidescopes, and more.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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