VOL. 69 NO. 9
66 YEARS OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016
Hospital diagnosis continues to be dire
Michael Simpson Editor Before getting deep into discussion, it’s important to note that St. Joseph’s hospital is a well-run, clean, professional facility. The people behind the stethoscopes and blood pressure monitors do a good job of healing the sick and injured that come through the doors every day. That being said, how long can a facility continue to operate at peak levels when it is aging, when the needs of the community are becoming more complex, and when funding from higher levels of government aren’t matching those needs? The most recently available public report on the needs of St. Joseph’s General Hospital date back to 2012. A
newer assessment completed in 2014 still sits in darkness, unacknowledged by Alberta Health although Covenant Health, the group that operates St. Joseph’s hospital, says the issues and recommendations spelled out need to be addressed promptly – but we won’t talk about that one here, because the public doesn’t know about it. (Sshhhh…) In the 2012 report includes excerpts from an evaluation in 2008 (“The building has deteriorated to a point where very significant upgrades and/or replacements are required in order to bring minimally acceptable standards to render it safe and also to address some of the more pressing functional deficiencies…”) as well as CONTINUED TO PAGE 12
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