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Hospital improvements good news for entire region, says Trail mayor

West Kootenay-Boundary Regional Hospital District Board will review the matter next month
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Interior Health’s Jane Cusden (left) looks over Phase 2 plans with MLA Katrine Conroy. (Submitted photo)

The province’s $23-million commitment to further update the regional hospital is good news for the city and the entire Kootenay Boundary, says the Mayor of Trail.

Read more: Province commits $23.3 million to regional hospital in Trail

Read more: $19-million hospital reno ready to break ground in Trail

Mayor Lisa Pasin was at the facility on Friday when MLA Katrine Conroy announced the Ministry of Health’s multi-million dollar share of funding for Phase 2 of the hospital sustainability plan, which is expansion of the ambulatory care unit and the pharmacy.

“This construction will result in stabilization of the medical system across the Kootenay Boundary and critical improvements being made to KBRH (Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital) which will ensure access to modern and greatly enhanced health care for all residents across the Kootenay Boundary,” Pasin told the Trail Times.

“Effective delivery of health care services across the expansive West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District is critical to the well-being of all our citizens.”

The total project cost for this second leg of work currently stands at $38.8 million. That leaves nearly $16-million that will fall to the taxpayers in the West Kootenay-Boundary Regional Hospital District (WKBRHD).

Thus, before the second phase inches forward, the 30-member hospital district board must vote in favour of advancing it.

The matter will be on the table at the next board meeting, slated for March 6 in Castlegar.

With the first phase of renovations now underway, which is a $19-million overhaul of KBRH’s emergency department, Pasin asks residents for understanding during on-going construction.

“To all citizens accessing KBRH, I ask for your continued patience as we move through an extended construction period,” she said. “There is no progress and no achievement without sacrifice. At the end of construction, we will have a facility that we are proud of and one that will ensure access to modern and greatly enhanced health care for all residents across the Kootenay Boundary.”

The plan for Phase 2 includes the build of a new ambulatory care wing above the expanded emergency wing.

Ambulatory care includes procedures for outpatients, such as endoscopies and cystoscopies, and other minor surgical procedures. No in-patient stays are required.

Improvements will be made to the existing ambulatory care space to accommodate out-patient examination rooms, booking offices and telehealth service.

The cast clinic will also be upgraded, and the medical records office will be relocated to the basement. This will allow for an expanded oncology unit and relocated physiotherapy department.

As far as the pharmacy, the plan is to triple it in size.

Those services will be enhanced with the inclusion of a patient education room for private consultations. The pharmacy area will be renovated to provide staff with an upgraded work environment, including better-ventilated spaces to prepare sterile hazardous and non-hazardous chemical products.

“Having been a frequent user of Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital over the years, I know how much the ambulatory care and pharmacy area upgrades are needed,” Conroy, MLA for Kootenay West, said Friday.

“This new investment in our regional hospital, along with the current emergency department redevelopment that is now underway, is vital for better patient care in this region.”

With Phase 1 and 2 approval, $57 million has been allocated for improvements at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, $19 million for the Emergency Department expansion and $38 million for Phase 2 Ambulatory Care and Pharmacy.

“Regional hospitals are critical for people in rural areas like the West Kootenay-Boundary because they make sure people can get care close to home,” Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, said in a Feb. 15 statement.

“We realize the urgency of the needed improvements for ambulatory care and a new, bigger pharmacy at KBRH, which is why we approved the business plan within four months of receiving it. This is another example of the capital improvements we are making in communities through the Interior and around British Columbia.”

Construction is expected to start in 2020 and be complete in 2023.



newsroom@trailtimes.ca

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Sheri Regnier

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