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Delta Hospital launches diagnostic services expansion

The $15.2 million project will expand more than double the diagnostic services area
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Donors, Fraser Health executive and Delta Hospital representatives used golden shovels to ceremoniously on the $15.2 million Delta Hospital diagnostic services expansion. (Grace Kennedy photo)

Delta Hospital patients needing CT scans, x-rays and lab tests will soon have faster and more private service thanks to the forthcoming Peter C. and Elizabeth Toigo Diagnostic Services building.

On Thursday, Nov. 23, Delta Hospital announced the official launch for $15.2 million dollar project, expected to be complete in 2019, which will see diagnostic services more than double in size and get a new arsenal of up-to-date equipment.

“For a hospital without proper facilities to do [diagnostic services], it can’t really function as a hospital,” Jim Sinclair, board chair of Fraser Health, said.

Currently diagnostic services are in three separate areas on the hospital’s main floor. The cramped medical imaging area includes two x-ray rooms and an ultrasound room. The CT scanning area across the hall, added in 2009, is much more spacious and akin to what the new diagnostic centre would look like. The laboratory, where samples are analyzed, is down another hallway and has little room for outpatients who are getting tests.

“Today, we know we can do so much better,” Sinclair said.

The new diagnostic services building will include an ultrasound room, patient change area, outpatient waiting area, analysis lab, conference room and four additional washrooms, more than doubling the size of the current facility. The existing two x-ray rooms and ultrasound room will be relocated to the new building, attached to the current CT scanning area.

With the increased space, the building will increase patient confidentiality and privacy and will help staff provide more efficient care.

“This is truly, and without exaggeration, a monumental event,” said Teresa O’Callaghan, interim director of the Delta Hospital. “An expansion is significant in our community, for the staff at Delta Hospital, and most importantly for the patients we all care for.”

Delta Hospital has seen an increase in its patient numbers over the years: from 14,000 a year when it opened in 1977 to over 90,000 a year. The new diagnostic services building will have capacity for an additional 32,000 patients a year.

“Today is really a commitment to the people of Delta that we’re going to grow this hospital to meet the needs of this community,” Sinclair said.

The project is being funded through $7.5 million raised by the Delta Hospital Foundation, including a $2.5 million donation by the Toigo family, and an additional $7.7 million from Fraser Health.



grace.kennedy@northdeltareporter.com

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The second of two x-ray rooms in the hospital uses a machine where parts of it are around 10 years old, the upper limit for equipment life. The machine is designed for examinations that aren’t commonly done at the hospital anymore, meaning it is not as functional for the hospital. (Grace Kennedy photo)