The Campbell River-based Mailman Family Foundation is donating a state-of-the-art MRI machine for the new $274.5 million Campbell River Hospital, currently under construction.
Valued at $2.2 Million, this 1.5T Medical Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine is predicted to have a significant impact on patient care for North Vancouver Island communities.
Currently, the only MRI machine available through Island Health is a shared mobile unit that rotates through Campbell River, Comox, Duncan, and Port Alberni every six weeks. A fixed MRI machine at the Campbell River hospital is expected to further enhance patient care in the region:
“North Vancouver Island is experiencing growth as well as an aging population,” said Stacey Marsh of the Campbell River Hospital Foundation. “Plus, the Campbell River Hospital is the first point of referral for medical emergencies, serious illness, and disease in our region. The donation of the dedicated MRI machine will assist our physicians in getting to the right answers faster and moving patients toward treatment and recovery sooner. We are very grateful to the Mailman family for their generous gift.”
The MRI machine is a tube surrounded by a large, circular magnet. The patient lies on a moveable bed that slides into the tube where imaging technology uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed 3D pictures of the body, particularly soft tissues.
It is most commonly used to examine the brain, spine, joints, abdomen, and pelvis – though applications for medical diagnosis continue to expand with ongoing research.
“Campbell River has been good to our family, and we’re excited for this opportunity to give back,” said Kris Mailman, owner of Broadstreet Properties and Seymour Pacific Developments. “Patients shouldn’t have to travel to Victoria or Vancouver, or wait months for the mobile MRI unit. This dedicated machine means sophisticated medical imaging technology will be available right here.”
The Mailman family is well known in Campbell River for their charitable involvement. Other notable gives have included the Life Skills House at Timberline Secondary School, sponsorship of the new CR Hospice House, involvement in the building of the Discovery Passage Aquarium, ongoing donation of materials for the Ace-It Construction program at Carihi Secondary, construction of the Campbell River Lacrosse box, as well as regular donations of time, money, and resources to a long list of local youth programs and charitable organizations.
The Mailman family’s latest donation of the new MRI machine is slated to be in place when the new, 95-bed Campbell River Hospital opens in the fall of 2017.
