(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Battling COVID

Perfect Timing: equipment bought pre-pandemic helping P.A. hospital fight back against COVID

Sep 27, 2021 | 8:00 AM

In what’s being described as perfect timing, equipment at Prince Albert’s Victoria Hospital bought before the COVID-19 pandemic is helping staff fight back.

Through community donations, they were able to purchase a DR X-Ray machine which is constantly being used on patients who have the virus.

Sherry Buckler, CEO of the Victoria Hospital Foundation, said that has made life easier for patients and staff.

“This DR X-Ray machine is able to be wheeled up to the bedside and the doctor is able to take real-time images of chest x-rays right there on the spot.”

They were also able to purchase multiple telemetry units.

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“They allow our intensive care unit staff to monitor patients on a different floor of the hospital who are not needing to be on a ventilator,” added Buckler.

These units help free up beds, specifically for the ICU, and allow staff to focus more time on people who are struggling with COVID.

As of September 24, 30 individuals in Saskatchewan’s north-central region which includes P.A. are in the hospital with seven needing an ICU bed.

Meanwhile, the hospital is in the middle of fighting a fourth COVID-19 wave meaning more equipment is needed.

The VHF is currently fundraising to buy equipment for their newborn intensive care unit.

Construction is nearly finished on the upgraded space which will allow for more babies to be born in P.A. and help those who need extra care.

“The timing couldn’t be better… you can imagine cramped and crowded 350 square feet is or eight to nine babies during a pandemic with the moms trying to access their babies,” Buckler noted.

Once finished, the NICU will be around 4,000 square feet.

Fundraising efforts will also be happening this year for a new mammography machine that will help detect breast cancer, a new endoscopy tower that powers all the functions needed to perform an endoscopic procedure that involves inserting a long, flexible tube down your throat and into your esophagus, and analyzers for their lab.

Down the road, Buckler says they will also look to purchase a second CT scanner.

“If the CT scanner is down then they have to be rerouted to Saskatoon.”

P.A. also needs an MRI machine, however, that is expected to happen once the new $300 million hospital project is completed.

There’s no exact timeline on when it will be finished.

—

Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow