Construction begins on Muskoka's new MRI facility in Huntsville
Construction has officially begun in Muskoka on a 3,700-square-foot facility that will house the area's first Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine.
A groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday behind the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital emergency department marked the occasion with several dignitaries in attendance.
"I can't really overemphasize how important this MRI is going to be for our community here in Muskoka. This will have a positive impact on the medical care provided by all of our physicians," said Dr. Jason Blaichman, director and chief of diagnostic imaging.
"We estimate a local MRI service in the area will serve over 7,000 hours behind the wheel for patients and spare more than 700,000 kilometres of travel to hospitals outside of our region," said Cheryl Harrison, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) president and CEO.
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The Huntsville site was designated as the district's stroke centre in 2006 and has been the only regional stroke program without a dedicated MRI onsite.
MAHC officials hope the new facility will be complete by spring 2025.
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