Hallways were cleared and doors were removed this morning at the KHMH to make way for the country's highly anticipated, long overdue Fuji brand CT scan.
Now, to put the enormity of this otherwise pedestrian development in context, get this: the KHMH has not had a functioning CT scan in house since the early 2000's!
So, after more than a decade of waiting, the diagnostic device is in the building tonight.
And it's no small order - Jomarie Lanza was there to cover the grand moving and container sized unboxing.
It took a crane and a forklift to get the long awaited CT scan into the KHMH building this morning, as CEO Chandra Cansino looked on proudly, having waited many months for this milestone to finally materialize.
Chandra Cansino, CEO KHMH
"There's been a lot of talk about the timing, but we always remind the general public and everyone that politics doesn't belong in healthcare. And so we are extremely happy that we are now receiving the CT scan officially into the hospital today and so we look forward to the next couple of weeks for the installation."
"Again the details of the contract is with the Ministry Of Health And Wellness, but I think it is in excess of three million dollars. It includes training. It also includes I think about five years of maintenance which is always the problem with these big machines when we get them and don't have a maintenance plan when they go down quickly and so it includes all of that. The training has not started, the training will start when the installation is completed probably in the next seven to ten days."
While it will be a few weeks of fitting and testing before the machine is up and operational, when it does come online, Cansino notes that patients in need of an emergency CT scan will not be charged upon arrival, but instead the fees will be worked out later on in the hospital bill.
Jo
"I guess people will also want to know how exactly this service will work. Is there a fee that they will need to pay to come in and get a CT scan?"
Chandra Cansino, CEO KHMH
"Yes the fees are or will be the hospital fees and now it will be include a CT scan fee, the actual number has not yet been finalized. I could definitely tell you that it will be cheaper that any other CT scan available within the country well because those are primarily private. This will be the only CT scan in the public sector we have to have subsidized prices to offer the public. It is also the best CT scan in the country because it is the only 128 slice CT scan in the region, so our prices will be affordable and competitive."
And quite the competition it will be for those seeking healthcare in the city. Now patients will have the luxury of being wheeled over from one room to another for a CT scan instead of having to go through the hassle of seeking these services at another hospital.
Jo
"How big is this for you guys I mean knowing that people will be able to come in and they may need a CT scan and you can just redirect them to that room instead of them having to come out and outsource that?"
Chandra Cansino, CEO KHMH
"This is extremely good news for us for our physicians and clinicians and for the patients because now they will be able to properly diagnose patients in a timely matter and patients will be able to get the appropriate treatment quicker sooner rather than later and so we are extremely happy for today, and we express our appreciation to everybody who is here all the gentlemen who are working hard and with the cranes and everyone to ensure that everything is in its place by the end of today."
