The medical community in Sundre has a long history of working together and overcoming the challenges to provide first-rate services across the West Country. Physicians, nurses and emergency services staff take pride in preparing and training for any emergency, while the community has gone to great lengths to support physician retention.
Last week, our community stepped up to tackle another sort of emergency when Alberta Health Services officials announced the impending closure of 15 long-term care beds at the Sundre Hospital and Care Centre.
Under the terms of the announcement, patients would be forced to choose between leaving the community in hopes of finding comparable care elsewhere, or accepting a lower standard of service locally.
The announcement came with no warning or meaningful public consultation. Front-line health-care workers were given no assurances regarding their employment, and the community was left to wonder if the closure of these beds is a precursor to the closure of the entire hospital.
On behalf of the community, I brought the matter to the attention of the legislature and pointedly questioned the minister of health regarding the matter. Joining me in the legislature were Sundre mayor Terry Leslie, Coun. Verna McFadden, Heidi Overguard from the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Robert Warren, registered nurses Sarah Gander and Diana Kleinloog, as well as concerned citizens Gerald and Shelley Ingeveld.
Following the proceedings, the community leaders and I met with Sarah Hoffman, minister of health. She has committed to keeping the hospital open, working to ensure that current long-term care patients have access to the same level of care within the community, and helping affected front-line health-care workers to find equivalent employment in Sundre.
While we have won some significant concessions, this issue is far from settled. Real concerns remain with regard to the future of long-term beds in Sundre, and I will rely on support from the community to help me hold the minister to her commitments.
It is also important to note that this is not the first time AHS bean-counters have completely disregarded the concerns of rural communities. In recent years, decisions regarding rural health care have been routinely announced without warning or meaningful public consultation. One of the best known examples was AHS's decision to shut down the Little Bow Continuing Care Centre in Carmangay. This facility was home to medical services for 54 years, and employed 40 people in a village of 250. AHS provided just a three-month notice before closing that facility's doors.
Such callous disregard for local communities became standard operating procedure for the centralized AHS administration, as the former government neglected its responsibility to control a bureaucracy run amok. This proved to be a key issue in the 2015 election, as folks across rural Alberta stepped up to demand better.
We have seen what happens when government allows AHS to treat rural communities as an afterthought. This cannot continue. The people of Sundre will not allow it. Our official Opposition will not allow it. I will not allow it.
We will defend rural health care.
Jason Nixon, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre MLA
