By Angela Hill

Emotional response to funding decision

Jan 13, 2011 | 6:07 AM

There is an emotional response to the decision by city council to not fund the local share of a special care home.

“It is somewhat emotional because it is our parents, our grandparents and there’s an emotional attachment there. Yes, it’s a dollars and cents decision, but it’s also an emotional decision because it is tied to family,” said Gord Dobrowolsky, Prince Albert Parkland Health Region board chairman.

Prince Albert City Council said that their share of the facility, about $6 million, is not possible for them without putting other city projects at risk. Council also voted for the mayor to speak with the health region board.

According to a press release from the city, they are not the only area struggling with a burden.

“Twelve of the 13 proposed projects in Saskatchewan are not going ahead because of the 35 per cent requirement,” said Scarrow in the press release.

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However representatives from the Ministry of Health said fewer than six communities are having difficulties.

“There were a couple of communities that early on … expressed their concern, with their abilities (to raise the funds),” said Richard Moen, director of capital assessment planning.

“I would say that is a very small number in the context — when these two were announced for Prince Albert there was a total of 13 — so it would be a minority, a small number of communities that expressed this concern.”

The share is in place to promote a feeling of community ownership and buy-in with facilities, said Pauline Rousseau, executive director of the strategic planning branch.

“The policy has been in place for years and hasn’t been a huge burden for communities,” she said.

The Town of Shellbrook and surrounding communities are one of the areas that have been able to raise the money.

“We are encouraged by what Shellbrook and area has done. There have been some bumps along the road of course … but, they have made it happen because they believe it must happen,” said Dobrowlowsky.

He said the board has a similar view for the Pineview Terrace Lodge project.

“If we have to wait a year, quite frankly that’s unthinkable from a health region perspective,” he said.

The residents at the lodge have a great living environment because the care they receive, Dobrowolsky said.

However, he adds that the facility is aging, including sixteen of the beds in the current Pineview Terrace Lodge not in use because of code violations.

Also a lack of long-term beds in the city, is causing a backlog of people at Victoria Hospital and those who are moving out of the hospital, being shuffled to facilities around the region because of the region’s first available bed policy.

“It impacts directly on the Victoria Hospital if we can’t provide more long-term beds because these people have to go somewhere,” Dobrowolsky said.

“Because of our lack of long term care capability those bed are taken up by long-term care patients who are better served by a long-term care home, not an acute care facility.”

In a hospital setting people are sharing rooms with people are actively ill and surrounded by medical equipment. In a long-term care home, it’s more of a home environment with medical support, said John Piggott, vice president operations for the region.

“That kind of living is still important to people, they still want to feel like they are living at home,” he said.

Dobrowolsky said he understands where the city is coming from with their financial burden, but doesn’t agree with their decision not to fund their share of the 35 per cent local amount.

They are sad and a little bit frustrated, he said.

For more on the story see:
City unable to help fund health facility

Victoria Hospital is over capacity
 

ahill@panow.com