Health and Community Services
July 20, 2010

Residents on the Northern Peninsula of the province will benefit from a new computed tomography (CT) scanner recently installed at the Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony. The Provincial Government invested approximately $1.5 million for this new system, which will replace the existing CT scanner.

"Our government is continuing to make strategic investments in the health care system to improve access to and enhance services and equipment for diagnostic procedures," said the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Health and Community Services. "This new CT scanner will deliver high-quality images of the brain and heart with improved resolution and lowered radiation dose."

The new LightSpeed™ VCT configured system is the second of its type in the Labrador-Grenfell Health region. Last fall, a replacement unit was installed at the Labrador Health Centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, through a shared funding initiative with the Grenfell Foundation's East Chapter, the Provincial Government, the Innu Nation and the International Grenfell Association.

"This replacement CT Scanner has exceptional image quality," said Wendy Christenssen, Regional Director of Diagnostic Services. "With its enhanced features and abilities, this CT system complements and extends the range of quality diagnostic services provided at this hospital."

Through Budget 2010: The Right Investments — For Our Children and Our Future, the Williams Government is investing $52.2 million for new medical equipment, including $4.4 million for a new MRI machine at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital; $3.5 million for the replacement of CT scanners at the Carbonear General Hospital and the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre; approximately $3 million for the purchase of new laboratory equipment throughout the province; $2.7 million for the provincial cardiac care program; and, $2.1 million for the purchase of new ultrasound machines around the province.

- 30 -

Media contacts: