Ultrasound imaging now offered locally every week at general hospital

By Rob Vogt

People who need diagnostic imaging will not have to leave town to have that done.
Since September, Radiology Associates of Lethbridge has been offering Ultrasound at the Claresholm General Hospital every Tuesday from 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
In that time, a total of 273 patients have accessed the service.
Karli Martin, site manager for Claresholm General hospital, said the service could expand.
“If they (Radiology Associates) can find more staff, they will be open more, because there is a demand,” Martin said.
Ultrasound is an imaging test that uses sound waves to create real-time pictures or video of soft tissues inside the body.
“So they can get a good picture of what’s going on,” Martin said.
“It’s important for local patients because before we had this, patients would have to travel,” she added.
That meant making a trip to High River or Lethbridge.
Accessing Ultrasound locally has another benefit.
“It decreases the patient’s wait time to try and see a specialist,” Martin said, adding treatment can then start sooner rather than later.
Ultrasound requires a referral from a doctor, but now patients can choose Claresholm as the site for the diagnostic imaging.
It is located on the east side of the nursing desk. There is signage pointing to a phone on the wall patients pick up to let staff know they have arrived.
Marcelle MacMillan, who lives in Claresholm, has accessed Ultrasound at the general hospital.
She said it was quick, as she waited maybe three minutes.
“The home town always seems to have a more personal touch,” she said.
Debbi Thompson, MacMillan’s daughter, takes her mother to appointments.
“It was so nice to come here,” she said.
Their appointment was in February and there were concerns about the roads, so it was nice to not have to travel.
“That was a real treat,” Thompson said.
Bringing Ultrasound to the Claresholm General Hospital is something that has been in the works a long time, starting with Martin’s predecessor Tracy Mitchell.
Recently, the parameters changed, allowing for Ultrasound to be provided by Radiology Associates not only to Claresholm but also Vulcan and Pincher Creek, with travelling staff.