The Bulkley Valley District Hospital upgraded its CT scanner with a grant from the Bulkley Valley Health Foundation (BVHF).
BVHF Executive Director Laurel Menzel said this was a big surprise to hear considering the equipment’s age.
“Initially that comes with a bit of shock because our community just fundraised for this CT scanner not so many years ago and a legacy gist was left by the late Fritz Pfeiffer, who was the catalyst for the scanner coming to Smithers at all,” she said.
According to Menzel, Harvie’s presentation included slides comparing images taken with the scanner in Smithers, and the one in Prince George.
“As Dr. Harvey was able to explain, having clear images allows for more precise and often faster diagnosis, sometimes eliminating the need for a repeat scan or a scan with a different machine,” stated Menzel.
As the CT scanner was fundraised by the community, she and the other directors for the BVHF agreed to take on the full $163,000 upgrade price tag.
About $50,000 was initially donated to the cause from Pfeiffer’s estate, $31,000 came from the Smithers Elks, and another $8,000 came from a fundraising gala held in October.
“[Harvie] did say to me that [the CT scanner] is an absolute work horse and they do a lot of scans and it’s running all the time,” said Menzel.
The scanner arrived in Smithers in June of 2019, and was ready for use a month later.