Alberta’s Health minister stated the High River Hospital will re-open in phases, but doctors want assurances services will not be cut.
Today (July 25) Health Minister Fred Horne announced the High River Hospital, which received minor damage resulting from the June 20 flood, will re-open in phases and full services will be restored.
“The hospital will continue to reopen through a phased approach,” said Horne in a statement. “The recent flood was unprecedented in Alberta’s history. I want to take this opportunity to reassure High River residents and local health care staff that we remain committed to providing the people of High River with the health services they need and getting things back to normal as quickly as possible.”
The Urgent Care Clinic has already re-opened and space has been provided to local family physicians to resume their community practices at the hospital. In addition, routine immunizations will resume today at the hospital for adults and children.
Horne said community-based services such as public health, home care, and addiction and mental health clinics will move into temporary space in the hospital soon. With these and other support systems in place, Alberta Health Services can begin a staged return of long-term care residents to the hospital.
“We remain committed to ensuring the interim care measures in the community continue while work to restore full health services is underway,” said Horne.
Although Horne said the hospital will be back up and running, High River doctors want assurances there will not be any cuts to programs such as the cancer care clinic, emergency and acute care.
Dr. Chris Powell has been a physician in High River for 14 years and he said any loss of services at the hospital will have a detrimental impact on the community and the health care providers.
“To hear (the hospital will re-open) makes me feel better because we need that assurance from someone that it is going to happen,” said Powell. “How long it will take is a secondary concern, we wanted to know if and when it was going to happen and right now we have not been getting answers to our questions.”
Powell said the High River doctors and nurses are concerned about the future of the hospital because despite minor damage Alberta Health Services was not opening the various departments.
As a result, cancer care patients, low risk obstetric patients and long-term care patients are having to seek care in Calgary.
“The hospital, in our minds, looks ready to go,” said Powell. “It was largely unaffected by the flood and we want to re-establish the acute care, the cancer clinic and the low-risk obstetrics.”
However, the physicians in High River have not had any indication as to when these services will be available.
“There is a growing anxiety among the physicians and hospital staff that if we are not getting answers it means there could be significant downgrade in services,” said Powell.
For patients of the High River cancer clinic, which is among the busiest in Alberta, having the service available is essential.
Alexi Gardiner, 67, had two cancer treatments in High River before the flood forced the clinic to be shutdown. As a result, she has been going to the Tom Baker Centre at the Rockyview Hospital in Calgary to receive her treatment.
Although she is pleased with the care she has received in Calgary, she said the High River clinic is vital to her recovery.
“Being able to go to High River has been a real blessing,” said Gardiner. “There is far less stress and it takes a lot of the fear away.”
Gardiner will conclude her treatment for breast cancer next week, but she will then begin more intense chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer in August. She said she is hopeful High River is operational so she can receive her treatment in High River.
“High River has been an oasis for me,” said Gardiner, who drives four hours from her home near Medicine Hat to stay with her daughter near Okotoks when she receives treatment. “High River is quiet and intimate and the personal attention I receive there goes a long way towards my healing.”
Tanya Law lives near Nanton and is 35 weeks pregnant and concerned she will be driving more than 90 minutes to have her baby in Calgary if the obstetrics centre in High River is not re-opened.
“I am scared I am going to have a baby in the vehicle because it is so far to Calgary,” she said. “Being backed into a corner about this is very disconcerting.”
Law, 33, had her son Tyler at the High River Hospital three years ago and she is nervous about giving birth in Calgary, because she appreciates the care she received in High River.
“In High River you are one of two or three (pregnant moms), but in Calgary there are so many more,” she said. “The care in High River the care is more personal.”
The High River Hospital’s low risk obstetrics clinic is the only one between Calgary and Lethbridge.
For Powell, he said programs such as the cancer clinic are not only essential for the community, but also for doctor recruitment.
Powell said they have worked hard to attract new doctors to the community and the ability to offer state-of-the-art facilities and programs is critical to the recruitment process.
With several of High River’s 18 doctors losing their homes and offices he said if the hospital does not open to full capacity he fears some physicians will not see the benefit of rebuilding and move elsewhere.
“This hospital is an integral part of the community and many people move here because it has a hospital,” said Powell. “If there is no longer an active, vibrant, growing hospital what will this do to the community as a whole?”
