Originally published in the Sackville Tribune Post

The Sackville Memorial Hospital Foundation has gone beyond its fundraising campaign goal of $160,000. In fact, over $173,000 has been raised to date for the We want to see you Better campaign, which will be used to enhance radiology services in the Tantramar region.

Foundation chair Bill Swift said, “Thanks to a recent $24,000 pledge from PolyCello, a packaging company in Amherst, we are able to announce that the Foundation has exceeded its initial target. Because of the overwhelming generosity of the community, the Foundation has committed to purchasing more advanced technology than originally planned.”

Rachelle Gaudet, director of diagnostic imaging for Horizon Health Network, Zone 1, said the new direct digital technology is better for many reasons, including the lowering of radiation doses to patients, improved image quality and faster technology to acquire images by the medical radiation technologists, which means reduced waiting times.

Robert Zwicker, facility manager for the Sackville Memorial Hospital (SMH), said this is great news for the hospital, adding that a new state-of-the-art radiographic system will significantly improve the quality of X-ray images. “Better images provide doctors with more information on which to base their diagnoses, which improves accuracy. This purchase will upgrade our radiology department to the highest standards, leading to better patient care and aid in staff training and recruitment,” said Zwicker.

It will replace a 30-year-old system, including the X-ray table and overhead tube, and will work in conjunction with the computed radiography system purchased from the Foundation’s 2006 fundraising campaign. Together these systems will provide high quality digital images that can be viewed by clinicians and specialists in different locations simultaneously, soon after the examination.

This system is an investment in the Sackville Memorial Hospital – now and for the future Campaign co-chairs Uta Bartlett and Pat Estabrooks expressed gratitude to all those who contributed to the success of the campaign. The two stated that the Foundation is fortunate to have the continued support of many loyal volunteers and donors as well as corporate support in the community.