Expanding Concordia’s spinal surgery capacity

Radisson

Our health-care system works best when people can access timely care in their own back yards. That’s why I’m so proud to see expanded spine surgery at Concordia Hospital, right here in our community.

For me, this announcement is deeply personal. I’ve lived with sciatica, a condition I share with Carol Bigold from the St. James area, the first patient to receive spine surgery at Concordia. When you’re dealing with this kind of discomfort daily, timely access to care makes all the difference.

My connection to Concordia’s leadership in joint care goes back even further. At the Concordia Hip and Knee Institute just across the street, I was a frequent flyer as a child. Of course, as a kid, I may have taken for granted how much easier our commute was than it must have been folks from Carol’s neighbourhood. As a grown adult, now an elected representative who has benefited from its service, I am so profoundly grateful for the great work that medical teams have done.

That’s why this $2.7-million investment literally hits so close to home. With new 3D imaging, advanced screw technology, and its minimally invasive nature, most patients receiving this type of spinal surgery can now go home the same day or the next. In the past, many would spend days in hospital recovering, taking up valuable time for both the patient and the system. Today, folks are getting back on their feet faster and returning to the activities they love with less pain and shorter recovery times.

In Radisson and Transcona, we help our neighbors. That’s why I hope we can all be proud of the impact that this investment has on wait times more broadly. Spinal procedures were previously only available at Health Sciences Centre. Now, we’ve got our own homegrown innovative success story that will help lift the pressure from HSC, to allow it to focus on more complex cases.

Not only that, this investment positions Concordia as a centre of excellence, already attracting surgeons from around the world to train right here in Winnipeg. This work also gives us all a great opportunity to highlight the strength of our local health-care teams and their commitment to advancing global health technology. Their work has put Manitoba on the map.

This is what rebuilding health care looks like. It’s about making sure folks get the care they need, when and where they need it. Together, we are building a stronger, more connected health care system for all Manitobans.

If you have questions or need support accessing care, my office is here to help. You can reach us at 204-599-2080 or jelynn@yourmanitoba.ca.