How much would you pay to bring a new MRI scanner to your hospital? Local hospital foundations have raised approximately $2.7 million Canadian ($2.1 million U.S.) in cash and pledges to buy a new scanner for Owen Sound Hospital in Ontario.
According to a March 19 report by the Sun Times, that total is more than halfway to the goal of $4.7 million Canadian ($3.5 million U.S.). The fundraising campaign began last year.
"It is such an important piece of diagnostic equipment that people understand it and know how important it is to have that essential service in the community," said Amy MacKinnon, executive director of the Owen Sound Regional Hospital Foundation, in the article.
The five hospital foundations at Grey Bruce Health Services -- Owen Sound, Saugeen Memorial, Meaford, Centre Grey, and Bruce Peninsula -- are collaborating on the initiative. The current scanner at Owen Sound is about 15 years old, and it handles approximately 11,000 exams annually. The community raised $8.3 million in 2004 to purchase that scanner.
