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September 6th, 2007: New Service Aimed at Prevention Offered at Kemptville District Hospital
Kemptville District Hospital
2675 Concession Road, Kemptville, ON K0G 1J0
Tel: (613) 258-6133; Fax: (613) 258-7853
September 6, 2007
New Service Aimed at Prevention Offered at Kemptville District Hospital
For immediate Release – September 6, 2007
Kemptville, ON, September 6, 2007 - More good news for the Kemptville District Hospital as it recently took procession of a new Bone Densitometry machine used to measure the strength of a patient's bones and determine the risk of fracture. The new service, slated to begin on September 14th, is designed primarily to check for osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis occurs gradually throughout life and leads to painful and crippling fractures of the hips, vertebrae and wrists. Over 25,000 hip fractures occur each year in Canada, with a total health care cost exceeding $600 million dollars per year. Staff at KDH hope to reduce those numbers by getting to patients sooner and referring them for treatments that will stabilize bone mass and reduce the possibility of fractures.
Once again the Kemptville District Hospital is leading the way by partnering with Osteoporosis Canada and the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto to screen high risk candidates in our communities for the test. The objective is to lead patients safely out of the fracture risk zone, and to prevent long hospital stays and surgery. This is by no means a simple objective. Osteoporosis is a disorder of complex, multi-factorial etiology. Diagnosis may be a relatively simple matter, but its treatment may be complicated by a host of considerations surrounding patient medical history and other primary conditions to which the osteoporosis itself is usually secondary.
Those patients most at risk are thin-boned, post-menopausal, women with a history of osteoporosis in their family. As well, patients on anti-seizure medication, those with hyperthyroidism, ovarian surgery before age 45, smokers, and patients with low intake of calcium throughout life are also at risk. Women considering hormone replacement therapy, or those who are estrogen deficient, will also benefit from a bone mass assessment.
One quarter of all women now aged 50 will experience a serious fracture of the spine and/or of the hip during their lifetime. One out of every six will fracture a hip in Canada. The elderly are the fastest growing segment of the North American population. Kimberly Peterson, Director of Patient Services at KDH says “When a fracture occurs in a senior they are not able to be as active. This can lead to pneumonia which could see the patient moving to a long term care facility or in extreme cases lead to death. We now have a service with the right technology close to home that can improve the quality of the patient’s well being.”
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For more information, please contact:
Colin Goodfellow, Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 613-258-6133 x132
cgoodfellow@kdh.on.ca