Committee struck to address health care services

By Andy George

Outcry from recent public meetings about Interior Health Authority (IHA) and their contract awarding processes, communications, and decision making have spurred individuals intimate with the issues to come forward as a group. This steering committee aims to understand the views of IHA, while communicating the desires of the community that IHA is sworn to serve.

 

On the evening of May 31 in Grand Forks Secondary School Auditorium, the public unanimously sanctioned a volunteer steering committee to “plan and coordinate the ongoing initiatives and action of the concerned citizens’ group.” More and more questions are being raised about the quality of service IHA is providing communities and this group has formed with an aim at procuring answers.

 

Linda Schilling chaired the meeting and the new steering committee members include: Grand Forks City Council liaison councillor Christine Thompson, George Manson, Hazel Thomson, Laura Lodder, Kathy Rush, Evelyn Brown, Ben Pearson, and Yvonne Tedesco. David Hurford, director of public relations and member services of the BC Care Providers Association, was the charismatic guest speaker who had answers for questions, industry statistics, distinguished the dilemmas, and provided an example from another community facing the same crisis.

 

“It costs (the taxpayer) a little less than $1000 per night to keep a senior in an acute care bed as opposed to $220 in a residential care bed; and the quality of care in a residential care facility is much higher than in an acute care ward… The Canadian Medical Association has said that on any given day 7,550 seniors in Canada sitting in acute care wards waiting to be placed in the community,” said Hurford.

 

His message was that the situation in Grand Forks and the Boundary is not uncommon. There is a real demand for residential care beds, and that there are serious implications by not meeting the demand.

 

As far as determining what the number of individuals waiting either in acute care or at home for a residential care bed to become available in this community is, only IHA knows. “They will not disclose how many are waiting,” stated Thompson. “We only really get an estimate when an individual is told ‘you are 12 or you are 14 on the list.”

 

The consensus opinion of the people in attendance is that the Grand Forks community has a wonderful facility to be used, so why is IHA not considering it? 

 

One citizen had some very interesting comments to make, “Initially, there was a presentation made to me (by IHA), that my wife would be going to Broadacres. It was all set up, she was going to Broadacres, beginning of the week. Then at the end of the week, she wasn’t because she was all cleared and ready to go home; which was a tremendous shock to me…My wife would have been Rod’s first customer if they gave him permission to use his license.”

 

Clearly, the more people look into these issues, the more questions arise. Thankfully, this steering committee has come forward to delve into these matters. 

 

The next meeting of the Steering Committee and Concerned Citizens is to be on June 21 at 7 p.m. at the Grand Forks Public Library.