The Acute Care Crunch

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 03:55 AM

Future site of the Gateway long-term care facility on Victoria Street & 20th Ave.

Prince George, B.C. - Demands on Northern Health's acute care services are threatening to push the Health Authority into red ink, but some relief may be on the horizon in the form of new long-term care facility.

The NH Board announced belt-tightening measures yesterday as it tries to end the fiscal year, March 31st, in a balanced position. (click here, for previous story) It is the ever-increasing demand on hospital beds, emergency services and surgeries that are threatening to spill the red ink.

Dr. Bert Kelly, the President of the Northern Medical Society, drove home the point during what has been dubbed his annual "State of the Union" address at the Dr. Bob Ewert Memorial Dinner this past weekend. Dr. Kelly says, "the lamentable lack of capacity at the hospital" has become the 800-pound gorilla that, if left unopposed, can derail all the positive advances made on the local health-care front.

Northern Health Board Chair, Dr. Charles Jago, says Dr. Kelly "certainly identified a real issue, but what he didn't note was that current projects, hopefully, will help to deal with that issue."

Dr. Jago says the Gateway extended care facility that's under construction on Victoria Street and 20th Avenue should make a difference. "I think that will take a lot of the pressure off Prince George Regional Hospital," he says, "So a lot of people who are occuppying hospital beds could be in another facility, which is not an acute care facility."

NH Executive Director, Cathy Ulrich, says, "Generally, we can have anywhere from 15 to 25 people [occupying PGRH beds], and it can be upwards of that, as well, waiting for placement [in extended care]."

Gateway will be a long-term care facility with 84 complex-care beds for those needing 24-hour care and 50 assisted-living beds. After a delay with the start of construction, it's expected to open in May or June of 2009.

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Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 03:55 AM in News by Michelle Cyr-Whiting

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Comments

Posted by: Honestjoe on January 22 2008 8:11 AM

This is an excellent move in the right direction considering present and future demographics related to our ageing population. Will this reduce the severe overcrowding in our existing facilities, such as Jubilee Lodge?

Posted by: Harbinger on January 22 2008 10:07 AM

Gateway type projects should be built all over the province. Where is the money gonna come from? Same place the money comes from when needed to fight wars. Simple. It worked in the Second World War. Granted we got some debt, but nuthin' like our now present national debt we have now.

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on January 22 2008 10:20 AM

I thought medicare was free. That's what the NDP and unions are telling us.

So what's this talk about "red ink"?

Posted by: Jim13135 on January 22 2008 12:14 PM

The Northern Health Authority should take some tips from other government agencies and just 're-assign' the designation of what they now call 'acute care patients'.

Call them 'prisoners' and there is all sorts of money available to care for them. I never once heard there was a shortage of money to dig up Pictons Farm?? Or pay the salaries of Judges or prosecutors??

Or maybe follow the lead of the school district...french immersion/fine arts designations seem to help keep the money flowing in schools that would otherwise be closed??