Trail Mayor Mike Martin has clarified the city’s delegation did, in fact, raise the matter of a second hospital access road while meeting with the Minister of Health last week.
“In the context of the province advancing the next two phases of the Sustainability Plan which, in our view, would then secure the future of the hospital for many years,” Martin emphasized. “We did again raise the matter, both verbally and in our briefing note.”
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Martin was attending the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) conference in Whistler last week when a wildfire was sparked behind Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH). The blaze forced closure of the only road to the hospital, with the exception of essential medical staff and emergency personnel.
“There is a well understood linkage between the city advancing the construction of the second access road and the province providing long term certainty of our hospital through the advancement of the total Sustainability Plan (Emergency, Ambulatory Care and Pharmacy upgrades),” he clarified. “Advancing all three elements of the Sustainability plan would provide us with that certainty and allow us to have the comfort to proceed with another significant capital project.”
Regarding renovations to the KBRH emergency, which are soon to break ground, as well as future upgrades, Martin said talks with the province were positive.
“We met at the UBCM with the Minister of Health to talk about the capital project now underway and to lobby further for Phase II improvements (Ambulatory Care and Pharmacy), including the addition of a second floor over the new Emergency Department, that would appear to make operational and financial sense at this time as part of completing the entire project,” he explained.
“The province was very receptive and it is hoped that the necessary commitment to proceed with the full KBRH project, which has now been flagged as the highest priority within the IHA’s capital plan, will proceed in a timely manner.”
In support, the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Board has agreed to provide the local share of funding, Martin added.
“So we hope that an announcement will be forthcoming. This would then put the ball squarely in the next council’s court as far as finalizing the design and coming up with the necessary funding for the project to proceed.”