SHA amalgamation: one year on
The expansion of pediatric services at Prince Albert’s Victoria Hospital is in the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA) plans, especially in light of the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital opening in Saskatoon next year.
The acknowledgement of the ever-increasing stresses on areas such as the hospital’s neonatal unit, was made by SHA Chief Executive Officer Scott Livingstone, who spoke to the media Tuesday to celebrate the first anniversary of the single amalgamated health authority.
“Pediatrics is one of the areas where we’re hoping to expand services in P.A., even before a new facility is built [there],” Livingstone told paNOW. He said the increasing demand for pediatric care and the new children’s hospital in Saskatoon coming online in 2019, this area of health care would be one of the first model lines that the SHA would create to show how they integrate clinical services across the province.
The P.A. hospital is now handling around 1,500 deliveries a year and there is a growing number of sick and premature babies requiring special treatment in a neonatal unit that has not expanded in decades. The improvement of this facility is the focus of the hospital foundation’s fundraising campaign Friday during the 12-hour Give A Little Life Radiothon on the various Jim Pattison Broadcast Group radio stations.