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economist sunsuntribune health saturday dec 6 2003 from page 1 t just like more than 2200 patients did last year mr landon had to make a 45- minute trip north to the southlake regional health centre in newmarket which has one of only two mri machines in york region he says it wasnt that bad the first time his chronic pain forced him to use a cane and the trip was uncomfortable but he didnt have to wait more than a few weeks for ah appointment v results didnt reveal anything about his condition things became a lot worse another mri was ordered but this time he faced a fourmonth backlog the problem is that while you are waiting the doctors sort of put every thing on hold hoping the mri results will have all the answers mr landon said then you put everything on hold too and it can be pretty discouraging if the results dont have all those answers youre looking for markham stouffville hospital presi dent dr jim maclean said the wait time for an mri is now almost eight months and includes more than 700 local patients of the 5637 mri scans performed at southlake last year 2305 were on markham stoufiville hospital patients the time has clearly come to make the service available here dr maclean said v- in 2004 we simply cant deliver highquality comprehensive care with- fout access to the right equipment and tools he said ah mri machine can be critical in providing the right diagnosis for our patients and weve waited long enough the ontario ministry of health and longterm care which said one mri machine should be available for every 250000 people agreed i the ministry has approved the oper- in region ating budget for an mri at the hospital in september but the 36million cost to buy and install the equipment remains the hospitals and ultimately the communitys responsibility hospital foundation president gina rosen said the foundation is looking to markham and vvnitchurchstouffville residents to help raise the funds begin ning with a direct mail and holiday cam paign this month this is the giving season arid were reaching out for help she said ah mri machine can be critical in providing the right diagnosis for pur patients and weve waited long enough ms rosen hopes corporate and com munity donations will come through in time to have the mri machine installed by late spring or early summer 2004 dr maclean said the mri wait list will disappear once the machine is installed in its first year more than 3600 examinations will be carried out thats less than southlake but only because markham stoufiville hospital will not be handling examinations for the entire region to date doctors still dont know what ails mr landon and he is now confined to a wheelchair making the trip to southlake even more difficult hes lending his support to the mri campaign not only for himself but because he knows thousands of other residents have faced similar problems he said ifs a necessary medical tool today he said its a worthwhile thing 77ie markham stoumlehospital and the msh foundation can be found on the internet at wwwmshonca pick ud rk region shqwcase of homes the most complete regionwide real estate and new homes publieatioh the showcase boxes are conveniently located at realtors offices go stations and other prime locations throughout the showcase package contains todays homes richmond hill thomhill p vaughan markham stouffviljenewmarket aurora kingqity east lgwhlimbury bradford sutton keswick and lesimcoepublications ibjunfing hunting for placebo call- home in york region is now as simple as pointing and clicking can it getjagyr goto- wwwyorkregioncom click on the interactive real estate icon h begin fought to you by the fe wmmmmmuommsa one package complete coverage wwwyprkregioncom view each page o real estate showcase orjodoys homes ond find what interests you now click on the cd and it will appear on your screen click again on the house image to feature iti won to see what else the agent has if they lis their web site and email address jus click on the sink to their web sire or for more tntormotion vov can contact ike aaent by ie seare shop till you drop inlie comfort p your own home view each page of the latest i 1 1 t t i isl s and find what interests you vmsi nns