Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) is investing in North Coast women’s health with $19,500 for new medical equipment at Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace, the port authority announced, on Sept. 24.
The Women’s Wellness Centre and Colposcopy Clinic will benefit from the PRPA’s Community Investment Fund with the support of a new OmniScope Hysteroscopy and Fluent Fluid Management System. This new uterine scope and fluid management system will save Prince Rupert area women from having to travel extra distances out of the North West region for critical diagnostic and follow-up treatments.
The equipment to diagnose and treat uterine polyps, post-menopausal complications, pre-cancers, and cancers will allow physicians and nursing staff to carry out a minimally invasive procedure to biopsy and remove cancerous uterine masses and fibroids safely and precisely.
According to the BC Cancer Society, an estimated 930 women in British Columbia will be diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2021. Mills Memorial Hospital provides services to more than 100,000 people from west to Haida Gwaii and east to Burns Lake and as far north as the Yukon border, including numerous Indigenous communities.
“These tools have significantly improved our ability to serve patients from across the Northwest with various gynecologic conditions, including endometrial pathology and infertility,” Dr. Dawid Van Rensburg, chief of staff, Mills Memorial Hospital, said. “Utilizing the Hysteroscopy and Fluent Fluid Management Systems enables us to provide care in a much less invasive fashion and significantly reduces the risk of complications.”
Shaun Stevenson, president and CEO of the Prince Rupert Port Authority, said, “This project’s ability to secure a higher standard of healthcare for women throughout Northwest BC is something the Prince Rupert Port Authority is proud to support.”
“Over the last decade, the Prince Rupert Port Authority has made over $400,000 in investments towards healthcare projects by way of our Community Investment Fund,” Stevenson said.
K-J Millar | Journalist
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