St. Joe’s leading the way in centralized patient diagnostics and treatments
Pictured above: Mrs. Marta Boris (left) and her children, Les Boris and Jackie Work, and Jackie’s husband Brian Work (back) at the opening event.
On Monday, January 9, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton celebrated the official opening of the newly redeveloped Boris Family Centre for Interventional Radiology & Oncology thanks to a remarkable $3.2 million gift from the Boris Family (founders of Mountain Cablevision). The Centre is now home to a state-of-the-art Angiography Suite where each and every patient at St. Joe’s in need of interventional radiology care will have access to reliable, centralized and leading-edge diagnostic and treatment procedures.
For many, diagnostics is an x-ray of a broken bone, an ultrasound for an expectant mother, or an MRI to learn more about what is happening inside the body. While these are vital, interventional radiology and oncology also offers minimally-invasive, image-guided procedures to diagnose and treat illnesses at the same time. This means the chronic kidney disease patient who needs a new dialysis fistula is supported, cancerous tumours are identified and reduced at the site, patients with septic shock have the infection treated at the source, blood clots are dissolved, and the bleeding is stopped for a new mother who is hemorrhaging after a caesarian section. And it is all done with only “pin-hole” incisions and without undergoing open surgery in the Surgical Centre.
The interventional radiology team at St. Joe’s performs approximately 4,000 procedures a year. Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the program is vital to the care St. Joe’s provides to the community. Compared to the surgical alternative, minimally-invasive interventional radiology provides a reduction in complications and mortality rates and a reduced length of hospital stay, which leads to better results for the patient.
“We know the importance of technology in healthcare and the benefits that patients experience when care is less invasive, and community members can get back to normal life sooner. The new Centre for Interventional Radiology and Oncology will do just that,” said Les Boris, who along with his mother, Marta Boris, and sister, Jackie Work, were on-hand for the opening celebration. “We are proud to support the care St. Joe’s continues to provide.”
The Boris Family gift supported the entire redevelopment project and equipment purchase. It began with the installation of an impressive roof-top Air-Handling system that supplies the Angiography Suite with surgical-grade air just like St. Joe’s Surgical Centre. Inside the Suite, there is a new, Single Plane Interventional Radiology Angiography machine with a navigational system and CT, ultrasound and 3D capabilities that will assist in procedure planning and improved diagnostics. The funding provided a state-of-the-art control room where radiologists analyze results immediately following the procedure, helping to maximize patient flow and the rapid development of treatment plans. Also included is a self-contained equipment and supply room to ensure specialized supplies are always accessible.
“Our staff are vital to every moment of a patient’s time in hospital, but we need to be able to rely on equipment to safely and effectively support patient care too,” explained Dr. David Higgins, president of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. “This gift from the Boris Family ensures our dedicated team of interventional radiology physicians, medical radiation technologists and nurses can provide exceptional care 24/7, 365 days a year for any patient in our Hospital needing interventional radiology care.”
Ms. Sera Filice-Armenio, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation shared, “we are moved by the tremendous acts of generosity our community bestows upon us. Once again, the Boris Family has ensured our community continues to receive the high level of care we are known for and at the same time allowed us to continue to push the boundaries of healthcare. We are truly grateful and our community is healthier for it.”
Pictured above: Dr. Athreya (left) and the clinical team (all right) in the redeveloped Angiography suite at St. Joe’s Boris Family Centre for Interventional Radiology and Oncology.