Houlton Regional Hospital acquires imaging camera

HOULTON – A donation from the charitable foundation of a bank that has branches locally and throughout the state helped officials from the Houlton Regional Health Services Foundation secure a new nuclear medicine imaging camera for Houlton Regional Hospital.

The $20,000 check from the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation was presented on Tuesday afternoon during a ceremony attended by bank officials, hospital administrators and staff, board members and supporters of the Health Services Foundation.

Earlier in the summer, the foundation bestowed $302,000 upon HRH officials so they could replace the hospital’s approximately 15-year-old nuclear medicine imaging camera with a new, state-of-the-art model.

The donation from TD Banknorth helped the foundation reach its fundraising goal, Elizabeth Dulin, the executive director of the foundation, said on Tuesday afternoon.

The machine uses radioactive isotopes to pinpoint a specific problem without having to scan the entire body. The new machine has been pegged as an upgraded, more reliable piece of equipment that will enhance patient care for years to come.

The Houlton foundation raises money that it pours back into the community, and foundation officials conducted several fundraisers for more than a year to garner the money to secure the equipment.

The entire cost of the equipment was covered by the foundation.

The new camera will allow staff to conduct many different scans on patients, including bone, lung, heart and renal scans. It also will eliminate the need for patients having these tests to travel to other hospitals.

The new camera is faster than the older version, allowing scans to be done more quickly.

Larry Wold, president of TD Banknorth in Maine, said the institution’s charitable organization chose to donate to the foundation for several reasons.

“We have an ongoing commitment to fund projects that are beneficial to communities,” he explained. “We’ve had a business relationship with the hospital over the years, and there was a real need for this piece of equipment. It was just a good fit for us.”