All Islanders will now benefit from advanced diagnostic imaging equipment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charltotetown, thanks to the kindness of the Milligan family.
“It takes a very special kind of person to do what Carl and Pearl Milligan did,” says QEH Foundation chair Allan Morse.
“We have this couple to thank in speeding the process of acquiring a valuable and expensive piece of equipment for the Diagnostic Imaging Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.”
It was a year ago when Milligan and his wife, Pearl, wrote a cheque for $500,000 to go toward the purchase of a Nuclear Medicine SPECT Gamma camera.
Both Carl and Pearl grew up on P.E.I. and they are from large families. Their motivation for giving to the QEH is their strong connection to the Island.
There has also been a lot of cancer in their family with both Carl’s sister and his father passing away with cancer, as well as Pearl’s mother.
Their summer months are spent on the Island in their home in Stanhope and the rest of the year they live in Nova Scotia and Florida.
“We live six months of the year on P.E.I. so it feels good to help out here where most of our siblings and their families still live. We know the Island could really use the help,’’ says Carl.
The equipment, which arrived in late spring, replaced a single-headed camera that has been in use since the hospital opened in 1982 and complements a second gamma camera purchased in 1998.
This sizable gift allowed the foundation to fast-track the process of the hospital acquiring the piece of equipment. The foundation can only purchase medical equipment once sufficient funds have been raised.
At a recent tour and reception in the Diagnostic Imaging Department at the QEH, the Milligan family and a few close friends had the opportunity to see the Nuclear Medicine SPECT Gamma camera first-hand and witness their gift come full circle.
Theresa Callaghan, manager of diagnostic imaging at the QEH, thanked the Milligans for their generosity.
“I am pleased to say renovations are now complete, our nuclear medicine staff is in the process of being trained, and more significantly, thousands of Islanders per year will benefit through the purchase of this new equipment,” says Callaghan.
Dr. Colin Foley, provincial medical director of diagnostic imaging, says this is new technology that allows for fusion imaging, which means they can acquire CT quality images at the same time as the Nuclear Medicine study and fuse the information to enhance the overall diagnostic capability of the exam.
“The most important advantage is the dramatic improvement in the power of investigation and we also have faster imaging capabilities. This is particularly helpful for our critically ill patients,” says Foley.
The Milligans hope their gift will inspire others who have the ability to give to make a similar gift.
“It really feels good to give back,’’ says Pearl. “Hopefully this new equipment will make a difference and help other Island families who need it.’’