SUNDRE – Town council unanimously agreed to engage the services of a consultancy firm to develop a strategy to support the ongoing push for a new hospital as well as to establish a rural health-care campus in Sundre.
The cost of $45,000 to hire P3 Capital Partners Inc. will be split 50-50 with the Sundre Hospital Futures Committee.
Last spring, town council created a hospital steering committee to work in tandem with the futures committee, which for years has endeavoured to set the groundwork paving the way for a new hospital and rural health-care campus.
The Myron Thompson Health Centre has been determined to be inadequate for current community demand.
“There are several critical issues with the facility that in the future will impact the safety and comfort of the patients,” Linda Nelson, chief administrative officer, told council on Jan. 6 during a regular meeting.
An estimated cost to replace the facility as previously indicated by an Alberta Health Services assessment was calculated to be approximately $20 million, said Nelson.
“This is greatly outdated though; that was a 2010 evaluation,” she added.
“The vision of the committee is to build a health campus that will not only fully replace the Myron Thompson Health Centre in providing emergency, acute, and continuing care to surrounding communities, but will leverage private partnership to provide an innovative community-supported training environment for rural-specialized medical professionals across the province.”
Following a meeting this past fall with the health ministry’s assistant deputy minister Christine Sewall that involved a tour of the hospital, Sewall committed to participating on the town’s steering committee as a member and subsequently appointed two of her staff members to join the working group committee, said Nelson.
The intent of engaging P3 Capital Partners is to assist in further efforts seeking avenues for the construction of a new hospital and campus of care, she said, adding the Sundre Hospital Futures Committee has committed to splitting the $45,000 cost 50-50 with the municipality.
Council passed unopposed a motion to approve the allocation of $22,500, with funds to be drawn from the general corporate stabilization restricted surplus account, as well as the partnership between the municipality and the futures committee in collaboration with P3 Capital Partners to further pursue avenues to construct a new hospital and campus of care.
“I think this is something that we’ve got to do,” said Coun. Connie Anderson, who made the motion. “It may not really fit in our plans right now to spend $22,500, but we’ve got to do it because we need that hospital.”
Coun. Chris Vardas agreed.
“In my mind, it’s a small price to pay for what this could potentially mean to our community,” said Vardas, adding the main amenities people tend to seek when considering whether to settle somewhere include education, recreation, and health-care services or a hospital.
“The key component is a hospital,” he said.
And as Sundre is geographically speaking situated on the doorstep to the West Country, “that hospital is continuously quite busy and it needs an update,” he added.
Speaking in favour of the motion, he said, “This is the start to a new beginning.”
Coun. Paul Isaac said the municipality and community have long advocated on behalf of the hospital and successfully pushed back when Alberta Health Services sought to decommission 15 long-term care beds.
“We as a town and surrounding areas fought back and we have done very well at keeping it where it is,” said Isaac.
Mayor Richard Warnock also said taking the initiative was critical.
“It is so vital as a thank you to the people who got our hospital in the ’60s,” said Warnock.
“It got built and now it is – from 1968 until today – its lifespan is coming to an end,” he said.
“We know that this is a big job for a small town.”
But the mayor said he believes that hiring professional consultants to speak on the municipality’s behalf will carry greater weight to ensure higher levels of government listen.
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