THUNDER BAY – The large proceeds from the Thunder Bay’s regional hospital’s monthly 50/50 draws are paying dividends for patient care, according to its charitable foundation.
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation has highlighted the impact of the draws in a video released this week, in which hospital staff describe the benefits of a new C-arm x-ray unit purchased in part with 50/50 proceeds.
The C-arms allow the x-ray to swing along an arc to help position the unit, allowing digital x-rays from numerous angles to help guide surgeons in real time, used in areas including the fracture clinic, ambulatory care, endoscopy, pain clinic.
The units provide crucial support during procedures like spinal surgeries, helping surgeons insert screws during spinal fusions with precision.
The hospital purchased four of the C-arm x-ray units when it opened in 2004, but those are past their end of life, according to the foundation, bringing the risk that the units can break down during procedures.
The hospital is in the process of purchasing a new unit for over $300,000, using around $100,000 provided by the foundation via 50/50 proceeds.
The new C-arm systems will also bring benefits including using lower doses of radiation, delivering cleaner images, and archiving images more quickly, making them ready for the next procedure more quickly.
“The ultimate goal of these newer c-arms is superior image quality, shorter procedure time for the surgeon and the patient in the operating room, overall better image quality, lower dose to the patient,” said Craig Willson, a tomography manager and x-ray safety officer at the hospital.
Tickets for the foundation’s August 50/50 draw are available online. A grand prize draw for over $700,000 is scheduled for this Friday. The lottery has more than $14.6 million in ticket sales this year, about $4.6 million than it brought in over the same period in 2022.
Ticket sales close at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation offers more information on how 50/50 proceeds have benefited the hospital at its website.
