Frontier Diagnostics eye CT scanner for Strathmore Hospital

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Frontier Diagnostics presented before Wheatland County council during the Nov. 19 public presentation committee meeting, introducing a proposal to expand services at the Strathmore Hospital to include a CT scanner.

The proposal was noted by Alex Koziarz, who spoke on behalf of Frontier Diagnostics, to be specific to the Strathmore Local Geographic Area (LGA) as defined by Alberta Health Services (AHS).

This region is centered at Strathmore and includes several communities within the boundaries of Wheatland County and Siksika Nation.

“Frontier Diagnostics has been successfully operating an imaging center here for almost five years. In addition to that, it has serviced a lot of citizens around the Strathmore township, which includes Wheatland County, as well as many patients from the Siksika Nation,” said Koziarz. “In addition, the area is quite diverse … there is about … 11 per cent of persons in the Strathmore LGA (who) are categorized as First Nations and Innuit people, which is significantly higher, almost four times higher than the Alberta average.”

He added another significant reason for choosing the Strathmore LGA for the potential CT Scanner is because of the health outcomes obtained through Alberta’s published information. 

Koziarz explained the Strathmore LGA is noted to have significantly higher mortality rates related to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and traumatic injuries. 

“It was quite surprising for us to see that, for example, if someone lives in the Strathmore LGA, they are more likely to die approximately three years sooner compared to Alberta overall,” he said. “They are also more likely to live with chronic diseases compared to Alberta overall, and when comparing to other rural areas, these numbers were also higher.”

A CT scanner can be ordered by any physician, though Koziarz explained they are more typically ordered by family physicians.

Patients may be more easily diagnosed using a CT scanner and may either be treated or followed up with based on the results of the diagnosis.

“A CT scanner is essentially the backbone to the diagnostic process in modern medicine … it can scan patients very quickly and has a highly accurate ability to identify a variety of types of conditions,” said Koziarz. “In the emergency department, we can diagnose things like stroke, fractures, or urgent intraabdominal abnormalities. On the non-urgent setting, such as when it is ordered by a family doctor, it can identify conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease and lung disease.”

Koziarz explained the presentation made before the county was to provide information and suggest a letter of support be written for the acquisition of a CT scanner into Strathmore hospital. 

The full presentation is publicly available online via the county’s YouTube channel. Council voted to accept the presentation as information, and no further decisions have been made as of the publication date of this article.