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Cost sharing considered by qathet Regional Hospital District board

Vancouver Coastal Health wants nearly $1.5 million to help pay for capital upgrades
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EXPENDITURE REQUESTED: qathet Regional Hospital District directors reviewed a request from Vancouver Coastal Health for $1,467,690 in cost sharing for five projects at qathet General Hospital.

qathet Regional Hospital District’s board has directed staff to create a report on a request from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) for cost sharing in capital upgrades at qathet General Hospital.

At a January 28 meeting, Electoral Area A director Jason Lennox said VCH is asking through correspondence whether the hospital board requires additional information from the cost sharing request from 2024.

“It’s a large request,” said Lennox. “It’s nearly $1.5 million on top of what we have already budgeted. We have pressures and cost-sharing agreements that will probably add to this.

“Do we require any more information to deal with this? We need to make a decision. There’s a lot of work actually underway at the facility [qathet General Hospital].”

Lennox said there were some important items in the VCH request for safe operation of the hospital.

“Where do we go from here?” asked Lennox.

General manager of financial administration Linda Greenan said she was contacted by Johan Marais, VCH regional director, capital asset management and planning, to follow up on the cost-share request. She said VCH had come as a delegation twice in the past about this request. Greenan said she recommended to Marais that he ask again, formally, to see if the hospital board is willing to provide the cost-sharing request.

“They just need to know if directors need more information to consider this,” added Greenan.

City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott said her understanding was that some of the projects, such as the emergency department triage upgrades, are underway and almost completed.

“Are they looking for assistance after the fact, or are these additional upgrades, and different from the ones they have already been doing?” asked Elliott.

Greenan said her belief was that the projects had been approved by VCH, and they had asked for funding for the projects. She said the hospital board didn’t give VCH the answer. She said she believed the projects for which VCH wants hospital board cost sharing are already underway.

Electoral Area B director and hospital board chair Mark Gisborne asked if the board had received a cost share proposal for 2025. Greenan said the hospital district had not received a 2025 request, and that the 2024 request would extend over to 2025.

Lennox suggested the hospital district indicate that it is into 2025, this is a very large cost share request, and the board has to figure out how to pay for it.

“We get these cost share requests every year and it seems like that’s the normal sort of approach,” said Lennox. “We need clarity. We can’t keep having these large requests. I suggest we consider how to spread this out over 2024 and 2025.

“I look at the list [of improvements] and it’s tough. I’ve worked in this facility and I know every single one of these items are needed. However, we can’t keep adding $1.5 million requests every year. It’s not sustainable.”

Lennox said the board should respond and ask for clarity regarding paying for the cost sharing over more time.

Gisborne said the hospital board can choose not to provide the funding and VCH is still on the hook for completing those projects.

Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said the hospital district has nearly $8 million in a reserve fund, to which the board contributes annually. She asked if there was funding in the reserve to cover the request.

Greenan said there is funding in the reserve for projects such as this.

The board directed staff to prepare a report on the correspondence from Marais, Vancouver Coastal Health, regarding the 2024 cost share request.

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