Sundre and area residents have every reason to express concerns following Alberta Health Services' recent announcement that it plans to decommission 15 long-term care beds at the local hospital.
Hospitals are major foundations for municipalities. Not only do they provide jobs and vital health-care services, hospitals are also a powerful incentive for people of all ages who are considering moving to a new community.
So news that AHS will be closing down beds at the Sundre Hospital and Care Centre could easily be interpreted as a precursor of worse things to come, with a worst-case scenario being the full-out closure of the entire facility.
But before anyone rallies up a mob with pitchforks and torches, it can't hurt to consider what officials are saying.
Sundre's hospital is the front line of defence for any emergencies that develop in the West Country. Officials know this.
"The hospital's staying open, and we'll make sure it continues to serve people of the region," said Sarah Hoffman, health minister, during an interview with the Round Up. She added a public consultation will be planned to help determine how to best utilize the space that will be left vacant once the beds are decommissioned.
She also addressed worries that front-line staff would lose jobs and that the patients at the hospital's long-term care wing would not all be able to transfer to Mountain View Seniors' Housing's new facility.
"There will be options for people to stay in Sundre," she said about staff, later adding, "Everyone will have somewhere to land. We need more nurses, not less."
Additionally, AHS is working with families of patients in long-term care to ensure a smooth transition, and Hoffman said, "everyone who wants to stay in town can. Everyone's going to be grandfathered over to the new facility."
The minister's words will definitely have to be held to account should AHS' tune suddenly change in a few months or even further down the road. In summary, officials have pledged to keep the hospital open, help affected staff find new positions, and to keep all the long-term care patients in the community if that is their wish.
Should any of today's promises turn out to be empty tomorrow, perhaps then it might be time to find some pitchforks.
In the meantime, this community not only still has a wonderful hospital to be proud of, but it will soon also have a brand new, state-of-the-art seniors' campus of care that will provide a service many Alberta municipalities would consider themselves lucky to have.
