GBGH expands ultrasound service to better serve the community
Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) is enhancing ultrasound services in its Diagnostic Imaging department to benefit patients in our community. Hours of operation for ultrasound are increasing and the variety of ultrasound service is expanding. Ultrasound technologist Preslee Jarvis performs an ultrasound on a patient in one of GBGH’s three ultrasound rooms.
September 22, 2021 – Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) is enhancing ultrasound services in its Diagnostic Imaging department for the benefit of inpatients and outpatients in our community. Hours of operation for ultrasound are increasing and the variety of ultrasound service is expanding.
With the addition of a technologist certified in musculoskeletal (MSK) ultrasound, GBGH will now be able to offer this new service to patients. MSK ultrasound is an important diagnostic tool to capture images of muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and cartilage throughout the body. It helps determine where an injury or chronic condition (i.e. tendonitis, rotator cuff tears, joint problems) has occurred and the extent of those injuries or condition. Patients can now request to be referred to GBGH rather than travel outside this area for this procedure.
Additionally, GBGH’s ultrasound hours of operation will increase to 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m., Monday to Friday (effective September 25), and 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on weekends (effective September 1). The previous hours were 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, with on-call service on weekends. The goal of extending the hours is to dramatically reduce wait times for non-urgent ultrasounds from 40 days to 14 days.
“By extending our hours and adding this important new service, we are continuing to improve access to important diagnostic procedures for our community,” says Angie Saini, vice president, Clinical Services and chief nursing executive. “Instead of travelling outside our area for shorter wait times elsewhere or for MSK ultrasound, we can now accommodate more patients and offer them additional services, bringing care closer to home for patients.”
Between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, GBGH performed nearly 8,945 ultrasound procedures. Given the changes in hours of operation and services available, GBGH forecasts ultrasound volumes to increase by 1,900 – 2,400 annually.
Contact:
Jennifer Moore
Communications Officer, GBGH
705-526-1300 ext 5177