New CT Scanner to Enhance Care at CCH
2025-11-15
At Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH), our 2022-2027 Strategic
Plan prioritizes advancing innovation and enhancing access to care to meet the
evolving and growing needs of our communities.
We are proud to share that we are reaching a major milestone
in this progress with the installation of a new, state-of-the-art Computed
Tomography (CT) machine. Work is currently underway and is expected to be
completed by the end of the year.
During the installation period, our Diagnostic Imaging team
is continuing to provide both scheduled and urgent CT exams from a temporary CT
unit trailer located just outside the Janet Macdonell Pavilion.
The outgoing CT machine was installed during the construction
of the West Wing in 2014. A CT machine's lifespan is typically 7 to 10
years. Higher volume facilities like CCH (where we perform nearly 20,000 CT
scans every year) will have a shorter lifespan for the machine compared to
lower-usage sites. With our existing machine at its end of life, we are being
strategic and proactive in replacing it now, ensuring many more years of
high-quality and uninterrupted care. The new scanner also offers more advanced
capabilities and technology, improving accuracy and patient experience.
This upgrade marks an exciting step forward in the evolution
of CCH’s diagnostic imaging services. Since the hospital’s amalgamation in
2004, we have worked to ensure our community receives the safest, best, and
highest quality diagnostic imaging care possible, all under one roof here at
CCH.
A CT scan is a medical imaging test that uses X-rays and
computer technology to create detailed cross-sectional images of the body’s
internal structures. It is an essential tool for diagnosing a wide range of
conditions, from tumors and internal injuries to heart disease and infections.
These scans are performed by skilled Medical Radiation Technologists, who
ensure each image is produced safely and accurately for physicians to review.
CCH is proud to offer this service as well as other important
diagnostic imaging exams in a state-of-the-art centre right here at home. Every
year, our team performs more than 100,000 imaging exams to support patient
care.
This project is supported by a major investment by Cornwall
Community Hospital Foundation thanks to a $1 million gift left in the estate of
local sisters Rhoda and Minnie Bartle in 2023. Most major medical equipment,
including our new CT machine, is not covered by government funding.
In partnership with our Hospital Foundation, and thanks to
donors across our community, CCH can continue purchasing the technology it
needs to serve local patients now and into the future.
As installation continues, be sure to follow @CornwallCommunityHospital
and @CornwallCommunityHospitalFoundation on Facebook to stay updated on
our road to the new CT scanner.