By Sheldon Spackman and Storrm Lennie

Calls grow louder for Red Deer hospital expansion

Mar 5, 2019 | 1:27 PM

Hospital expansion is the number one priority for an advocacy group that says Red Deer Regional Hospital can no longer meet the needs of the area.

The Society for Hospital Expansion in Central Alberta (SHECA) says residents are being deprived of critical health infrastructure they have earned.

The newly rebranded society recently obtained data summarizing health infrastructure investments throughout the province during a ten-year period from 2008–2018.

It was discovered during that time the Calgary Zone received $2.538 billion in health infrastructure funding ($1633 per capita), the Edmonton Zone received $1.447 billion, the North Zone received $999 million and the South Zone $451 million.

The Central Zone received only $107 million ($228 per capita).
 

Two-Year Diploma

Red Deer Polytechnic creates accelerated Practical Nurse Diploma pathway for health care professionals

1h ago

advocating for strategic action

Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce comment on Land Use Bylaw public hearing

1h ago

Chance to win prizes

Registration open for Green Deer spring cleanup campaign

2h ago

SHECA is demanding the province address the issue so central Albertans can receive the care they need without having to travel to Edmonton or Calgary.

“The difference shouldn’t be 1000 per cent. It shouldn’t even be 100 per cent,” says SHECA co-founder Dr. Kym Jim. “It’s troubling because the Red Deer hospital is by far the busiest hospital in Alberta, even over Edmonton and Calgary. The needs are not being met.”

The society is also demanding that Premier Rachel Notley release the Updated Needs Assessment for Red Deer Regional Hospital that was completed in the fall of 2018.

Joe Smith suffered from a heart attack on February 19. Red Deer Regional was unable to offer him the medical care he needed so he was sent to Edmonton.

“The ambulance took us down to the hospital here in Red Deer so they could start my heart because it had stopped. Then they got me stabilized so I could make the trip out to Edmonton because they did not have the resources for me here in Red Deer. The trip there was just pure terror, it was terrible. It was an hour and a half and I was sick and in pain.” he described.

“When we got to Edmonton my heart had stopped again, so they used the paddles but they couldn’t get my heart started again. So what they did is they took a pacemaker and taped it onto the outside of my body and punched holes into my heart with wires and eventually they were able to get it going again. It speaks on how badly we need a catheterization lab here in Red Deer; I don’t know the statistics of the amount of people who went through what I did and didn’t make it. I was lucky.”

SHECA says at least $800 million is needed for Red Deer Regional Hospital to get the upgrades it needs. They say unless funding occurs immediately, the hospital is at risk of not seeing a new hospital bed for another 25 years.

In response to this morning’s news conference, Alberta Health Minister Sarah Hoffman is reiterating her government’s pledge to expand the hospital should they be re-elected this spring.

“I’m not going to apologize for investing in the Calgary Cancer Centre or a new hospital in Edmonton, but it’s Red Deer’s turn. It’s important that we invest in Alberta’s third-largest city and make sure that the health care services that all Albertans need are there for them. If they live or spend time in Red Deer they want to know that they have access to a great hospital.”

Hoffman says she’s pleased to see the society lobbying on behalf of public health care in Red Deer.

“It’s great that they are making the community aware of how important this project is.”

Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel is calling for hospital expansion, saying, “The failure over two decades to sufficiently invest in this critical facility has hampered its ability to function as a main referral hospital. The approximately 450,000 Albertans living in the Central Zone deserve to receive their health care closer to home.”

Mandel, himself a former Health Minister, is also calling for the release of the Updated Needs Assessment.

“I call on the Minister to immediately release this report publicly in order to allow all parties to develop plans for this important project.”

The society has taken on the slogan “Demand Care” and is encouraging people to visit demandcare.ca in the coming weeks as they launch a new letter-writing campaign calling on Alberta Health Services and the province to take action.