ST. PAUL — The community-led push to bring a CT scanner to St. Paul has reached another milestone, with local advocates taking their case directly to Alberta’s health minister.

Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA Scott Cyr joined St. Paul & District Hospital Foundation Chair Ron Wirsta and Vice-Chair Yvon Caouette in Edmonton this week for a meeting with Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services Adriana LaGrange.

The meeting comes after the Foundation reached a significant milestone of its own: raising $1 million toward bringing CT imaging to the St. Therese–St. Paul Healthcare Centre.

Now, the focus is shifting from demonstrating community support to securing the provincial involvement needed to make the project a reality.

“The Foundation has done tremendous work building the vision, bringing the community together, and raising $1 million toward making a CT scanner in St. Paul a reality,” Cyr said.

According to Cyr, LaGrange asked questions about the proposal, the needs of the hospital and how adding CT imaging would strengthen healthcare delivery in the region.

Cyr described the discussion as encouraging, while acknowledging there is no provincial commitment yet.

LaGrange indicated any future investment would have to be considered within the provincial budget and alongside healthcare priorities from communities throughout Alberta. Cyr said the minister also provided feedback on areas where the local case could be strengthened.

For St. Paul, the argument goes beyond simply adding another piece of equipment.

Having CT imaging available locally could allow physicians to assess some patients without first sending them to another community for diagnostic imaging. It could also support emergency and inpatient care and help doctors determine when a patient needs to be transferred to a higher level of care.

That could mean fewer highway trips for some patients and families; something particularly important for rural residents already travelling significant distances to access healthcare.

The Foundation has been building public support for the project throughout the year, including its 100th anniversary Happy Days Gala, where bringing a CT scanner to St. Paul was a major focus.

Cyr credited Wirsta and Caouette for taking the community’s case to Edmonton and said the Foundation’s fundraising success sends a strong message about local support.

“Raising $1 million toward a CT scanner is a remarkable achievement and a powerful demonstration of what can be accomplished when a community comes together behind a shared goal,” he said.

Cyr also recognized St. Therese–St. Paul Healthcare Centre Site Manager Jamie Malone and the physicians, nurses, diagnostic imaging professionals and other staff providing care at the hospital.

There are still several steps between a $1-million community fundraising effort and a working CT scanner in St. Paul, and Tuesday’s meeting did not come with an announcement that the province will fund the project.

But for the Foundation, getting its proposal in front of the minister, and receiving feedback on how to strengthen it, represents another step forward.

“There is a process to moving a major healthcare priority like this forward: build the vision, demonstrate community support, raise the funds, make the case, and keep advocating until we can get it built,” Cyr said.

For now, St. Paul has checked off a few of those boxes and the push continues.