LETTER – Losing the opportunity for a PET/CT scanner would be incompetent

The Vernon LARGE BORE MRI is one of the busiest MRI’s in the Interior, why, because Interior folk are REAL folk, and REAL folk tend to be larger and a little heavier in REAL LIFE than in other areas of BC! I am one of those REAL folk who happen to be one of the larger-than-average and I’m not ashamed to say it, not any more.

Everyone copied here is doing a great job trying to convince Minister Osborne and Premier Eby to ‘ grant ‘ Kamloops the opportunity to Service the Interior, and Save Lives better than anywhere else in the country, and I believe, that instead of groveling, at this point in time, we should be putting the pedal to the metal and GO BIG, and yes, I am dating myself and that’s okay :)

RIH CEO Heidi Coleman mentioned on CFJC the other day, that there are different sizes of CTs, and no doubt, different sizes go with different costs, but Kamloops is a ‘ gracious outstanding ‘ community and at the very minimum, a Large Bore/High Weight Capacity PET/CT is what we want, it is what we need, and it is what we should be asking for!

Grasping the opportunity to build the appropriate infrastructure at such a critical juncture before we break ground in 4 weeks is a GOD-SEND, and to lose this opportunity to do the right thing now, would be nothing short of sheer incompetence or political interference and we would all like to believe that is not the case!

My position is, and I believe our position should be, that the ONLY delay Kamloopians will accept now, is the delay in re-working the Design accommodating for our newest, most coveted piece of equipment that will save lives for decades to come; equipment accessible to everyone, including larger folk.

Travelling to Vancouver for a Large Bore/High Weight PET/CT is financially out of the question for most of the 250,000 BC Residents that live in our Catchment area, as well as constantly having to travel to Kelowna for Health Care. 

Kelowna-Lobbyists who keep Kamloopians paying for hotel-stays and all the extra costs that go with the heartache, will have to make up their tourism-shortfall another way, our stand is and should be, Kamloops is done being taken advantage of!

Thanks to generosity of both the Gaglardi and Fawcett families, Teck Resources Limited and countless other philanthropic contributors over the years, we are now one of the most efficient, Tertiary Acute Care Hospitals in BC. Today, all we expect is that our Cancer Care is at par with the quality of our services.

There is no need for a formal reply to this email, only well-thought-out, considerate and immediate action is what I expect. It is what we all expect.

Please be advised, due to the obvious time constraint and summer holiday scheduling, I’ve copied all those respected community leaders that I know in my heart can and will make all the difference in the world.

CINDY BORTOLOTTI