Health Minister Sarah Hoffman says two health-care facilities in Olds are especially innovative.
Hoffman was in Olds March 22 and spent about 90 minutes touring the Olds and District Hospice Society's two hospice suites and the Peaks to Prairies Primary Care Centre on 50 Avenue.
She says the hospice suites are leading edge because they're located in a small town outside Calgary or Edmonton and because they're inside a facility for the elderly -- the Sunrise Village Encore facility, north of the hospital.
Hoffman says the Peaks to Prairies Primary Care Centre is ahead of the curve because again, not only is it located in a smaller community outside Alberta's two biggest cities, but it focuses on maternity services and care for newborns.
Hoffman compares the Olds hospice suites to a similar – but larger – facility in Red Deer.
“Red Deer is a stand-alone facility and it has more beds. I think they have about 10 and Olds has two,” she said.
“The two (in Olds) are integrated into a sort of continuum of care model, so it was really neat to see that. You don't need to necessarily build a stand-alone building to have the same kind of support and compassion for the person who's at the end of life and their family. The Red Deer facility is lovely, but this one is brand, brand new.”
“Not every town has somewhere where you can go to have the supports during the end-of-life phase. I think it was great to see this made-in-Olds innovation, so (I was) really glad to see that,” she said.
While in one of the hospice suites, Hoffman chatted with a resident about it.
That resident liked the fact the suite is new – officially opened last year.
She also liked the fact that because it was a suite, not a hospital room, she had opportunities to have dinners and visits with family.
Hoffman noted that, according to the resident, “it was better than being in the hospital…not that the hospital isn't great, it's just that when you're in a home environment, it's a different energy.”
The resident also had a suggestion on how to improve life there.
“She would like a little more one-on-one care,” Hoffman said. “So some time maybe for extra personal care and those types of things.”
Hoffman was impressed with the fact that the Peaks to Prairies Primary Care Network facility in Olds focuses on maternity care and newborn care and has delivered more than 300 babies a year.
“Some of the diagnostic tools that would be in the hospital normally for stress tests for pregnancy, they're now incorporating into the clinic, which means that you don't need to go to the emergency department when you're not an emergency,” she said. “You just want to make sure you're monitoring the baby safely.”
“I see the work that they did around the newborn and maternity as certainly something that they're really proud of,” Hoffman said.
“They've been able to attract and retain physicians who can do anesthesiology, which isn't always the case in centres outside of Edmonton and Calgary,” she added, noting the facility has physicians “who can do C-sections and who can do traditional lower intervention deliveries and do the anesthetics.
“That's certainly something that you don't see every day in some of our non-metro communities.”
She also liked the fact the facility has photos on the wall of babies that have been born with the help of staff.
Hoffman got the idea to visit these Olds facilities when she chatted with Olds-area resident Al Kemmere, president of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC).
“When I met with Al at the AAMDC, he was talking up the hospice and how great it was. I often spend time on Highway 2 and I thought well, this was a great time to make sure I get a chance to get off the highway and get to know some of the different services that are available to the people in and around Olds,” Hoffman said.
She said whenever she can, she visits health-care facilities throughout Alberta -- especially those outside Edmonton and Calgary -- so she gets a feel for what's being done and what's needed to improve health care in the province.
"Not every town has somewhere where you can go to have the supports during the end-of-life phase. I think it was great to see this made-in-Olds innovation."SARAH HOFFMAN HEALTH MINISTER
