A mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) service is one step closer to arriving in Port Alberni and other Island communities, the Vancouver Island Health Authority said.
According to a news release, a request for proposals has been issued by VIHA the the equipment that is used to perform the service. Once up, the mobile MRI will be used between Alberni, Duncan, Campbell River, the Comox Valley.
In Alberni, it will be used on a specially designed pad at West Coast General Hospital.
The equipment is scheduled to be in each community for one to two weeks before moving on to the next.
The development is welcome news to Cindy Solda, who is the city's representative for the Alberni Clayoquot Regional District's hospital board.
“This will be such a relief to people who have to travel out of town to get an MRI,” Solda said.
“It will increase convenience and cut down on travel time, which is important for the elderly or people who do don't drive.”
One doctor who Solda knows said that the mobile service will be good because they are done on a priority basis right now and wait lists can be long.
Solda required an MRI two years ago and had to travel to Comox to have it done, she said.
The city will have to incur some cost for the service. “But when it comes to helping better people's health you can't argue with that,” Solda said.
VIHA expects the service to start this summer.
reporter@albernivalleynews.com