qathet Regional Hospital Board (qRHD) has approved a $1.4 million expenditure from reserves for cost sharing with Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) for hospital infrastructure and equipment upgrades.
At the March 25 regional hospital board meeting, directors approved expenditures for five capital projects. These include: modernizing clean and dirty dumbwaiters; pharmacy room upgrades; emergency department triage upgrades; a patient monitoring system; and a surgical video system. Total cost of the projects is $3.5 million, with the hospital district providing 40 per cent of the costs.
Electoral Area A director Jason Lennox said VCH has been waiting for a decision from the board on the cost-share request.
“We had a good discussion at our financial meeting,” said Lennox, adding that it was best to use reserve funds rather than burden taxpayers with more borrowing.
“I do see in the report that many of these actions have been undertaken and completed, or substantially completed,” said Lennox.
City of Powell River alternate director Trina Isakson asked the implication of contributing a lesser amount would be, such as 30 per cent, to VCH.
“Has there been any discussion to that extent?” asked Isakson. “Is there any way to nudge them to take a different approach?”
Electoral Area B director and hospital board chair Mark Gisborne said in communication with Sea to Sky Regional Hospital District, they were unhappy with VCH processes, and he believes they denied funding requests for two years in a row. Gisborne said he believes qRD general manager of financial administration Linda Greenan might have some input about what might happen if a lesser amount was allocated to VCH.
Greenan said she had spoken with a VCH representative about what would happen if qRHD didn’t fund the request. She said the representative indicated that what happens is VCH, when prioritizing its projects, puts them in priority order of what needs to be done.
“He said if we didn’t fund this request, the province would provide funding, and then we would have to look at the projects planned and figure out how VCH can rejig so they could determine what projects to put off,” said Greenan. “If the board decided to fund 30 per cent, VCH would have to figure out where it would get the other 10 per cent of the funding and what projects would have to be rejigged to accommodate that.”
Gisborne said his understanding was that if funding was turned down, it slows down potential capital improvements in the hospital facility in future years.
Directors voted unanimously in favour to support the expenditure of $1.4 million for capital projects from reserves.
The board also adopted its 2025 to 2029 five-year financial plan bylaw. The budget shows $5,038,251 in revenue and $1,377,895 in expenditures.
In a media release, Gisborne stated: “Through the newly established VCH and qRHD working group, maintaining a strong working relationship between the qRHD and VCH is essential to ensuring that health care investments in our region are planned responsibly and sustainably. Through the VCH and qRHD working group, we are committed to ongoing collaboration that allows funding requests to be brought forward in a way that supports long-term financial planning.
“Our goal is to ensure that health care improvements meet community needs, while keeping taxation impacts on residents as minimal as possible. By working together, we can continue to strengthen healthcare services for the region now and into the future."
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