Estevan, RMs urge province to rethink $2M gift for MRI machine

By Andrew McCormack

Residents in Estevan and the surrounding area are expressing concern over the province’s decision to decline an offer of a $2-million donation for an MRI machine in Estevan.

The issue was brought up at the tail end of Estevan city council’s Monday night meeting. Councillors Tony Sernick and Travis Frank reported receiving numerous inquiries about the province declining to accept the donation.

“Most of the inquires wanted to know if it was true,” said Sernick. “It is true, and I can just say that the city and the surrounding RMs are showing their support for it, for the government to reverse their decision.”

An Aug. 23 letter from the RM of Browning No. 34’s council to then-Health Minister Paul Merriman’s office that was circulating on social media on Monday stated that Elaine Walkom offered “to donate $2 million to the province for the purchase of an MRI scanner to be installed and operated in Estevan” in a March 23 letter to the Ministry of Health.

The RM of Browning’s letter said the ministry sent a letter back on May 31 declining Walkom’s donation.

The RM’s council wrote that the ministry’s letter “stated that there are several factors for determining the location of potential MRI locations including but not limited to population, distance of patients from facilities, service volumes, staffing and wait times. We have analyzed the map of the province of Saskatchewan and determined that the most logical location for an MRI machine in southeast Saskatchewan is in Estevan.

“The continued conversation of having provincial services in Weyburn over Estevan is not beneficial to the Estevan area as residents of Weyburn currently has (sic) MRI services available in acceptable driving distance of Moose Jaw and Regina. Even if an MRI scanner were to be installed in Weyburn, there would unfortunately still be communities in southeast Saskatchewan closer to MRI scanners in North Dakota, U.S.A.

“We cannot logically understand the decision of the Ministry of Health to decline the offer of Ms. Walkom as her donation would not only be sufficient to provide the service, but will be in a location of the province in dire need of better MRI services. There are certainly other locations that require MRI services just as much as Estevan, but this donation would adequately provide a service that the province cannot afford to decline anywhere.”

“As our community knows, we raised the money for the CT scan and a year’s funding, and now, thanks to the goodwill of Elaine Walkom, she’s (willing) to pay the bulk of the MRI,” Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig said. “So hopefully (it’ll happen) with the community support.

“I did talk to our MLA (Lori) Carr and she does want it to go through. I appreciate that this council sent her to the hospital board. Now it’ll be going through there and their comments. I understand, I hope, it’ll be coming back to us. And hopefully by that time, she will be giving it the attention that it deserves.”

DiscoverEstevan reached out to the province for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Carr on board

On Tuesday, Carr said she is completely on board with bringing MRI services to St. Joseph’s Hospital and is lobbying her Saskatchewan Party government to do so.

Carr said she is “100 per cent behind the opportunity to bring MRI services to St. Joseph’s Hospital.”

A letter sent by Merriman at the time did not specifically name a reason for the decision, but noted there weren’t immediate plans to bring MRI services to Estevan.

The letter cited a number of factors that are considered when determining locations, including population base, distance from the nearest facility that provides the services, anticipated volumes, ability to recruit and retrain staffing, other specialty services provided in the location, and wait times.

Carr said the Saskatchewan Health Authority is evaluating “the services that are needed in each of its communities.”

“Well, I would argue that these services are needed,” Carr said, “so what that tells me is there’s more work that needs to be done.”

Carr said she’s “actively lobbying (her) colleagues for this to turn into a yes.”

She said St. Joseph’s Hospital’s executive director Candace Kopec said they’re working on an official proposal to show the ministry why it makes sense to offer MRI services in Estevan.

“This is what we had to do a few years back when we were successful in bringing CT services to the area,” said Carr. “I know it is frustrating with how long it takes for positive approvals, but I think we are in a spot now that an official proposal will be prepared by the facility that will actually host this MRI machine. I look forward to that work being done. Then I will be able to show exactly why we should receive a yes.”

Everett Hindley took over the role of minister of health in the Aug. 29 cabinet shuffle. Carr said she has had positive conversations with Hindley, and Hindley was able to speak with Kopec when he visited St. Joseph’s Hospital two or three weeks ago.

NDP responds

NDP Leader Carla Beck responded to the situation in a statement, calling it “ridiculous” and urging the government to “get this done.”

“We’re talking about a local citizen stepping up to donate $2 million to solve a problem, and you’ve got Scott Moe and his ministers getting in the way,” Beck said. “It’s just one more example of the Sask. Party making everything worse and thinking they know better than all the communities that desperately need this MRI machine.”