On Feb. 18, the East Kootenay hospital board elected new leadership and passed the 2022 capital budget containing a number of proposed projects for health care facilities in the region.
The Kootenay East Regional Hospital District (KERHD) Board green-lit a $10.8 million budget, with the largest item being a $1.8 million Primary Care Network in Golden.
KERHD will contribute $740,000, while the Province will provide the remaining $1,110,000.
Primary Care Networks enable care providers to practice team-based care to support their patients, says Interior Health.
In team-based care, depending on their needs, patients can be treated by various healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, and social workers.
The idea is to create a care network for individuals within the community, limiting the need to get care outside of the community.
“Interior Health would like to thank the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District for approving our funding request, which will go towards primary care services in Golden,” read Interior Health.
“We are investigating options for space to locate healthcare professionals who will work within the Primary Care Network in Golden.”
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Todd Mastel, director of business operations with Interior Health, says IH is looking at two options to lease space—one close to the Golden Hospital and one further away—which will be used by staff who will be recruited into the area.
In September 2020, the province announced that approximately 660 new full-time equivalent health professionals would be part of 22 primary care networks that will be established throughout the province over the next three to four years.
According to the health authority, the creation of these networks has brought together community partners, local healthcare providers, and Indigenous partners to ensure patients have access to a full range of team-based primary care services, from maternity to end-of-life, for all of their day-to-day health-care needs.
“For people and families, it means getting faster, better access to their primary care team or provider, including evenings and weekends, as well as being connected to appropriate services and supports in the community,” reads the government website.
These networks are expected to help connect approximately 300,000 people to a local primary care team or provider.
In addition to the primary care network, $22,000 has been allocated to replace a retaining wall at the Golden & District Hospital. The province will contribute an additional $33,900.
The Hospital District extends beyond the boundaries of the RDEK to include the Towns of Golden and Creston and the portions of the Regional Districts of Central Kootenay and Columbia Shuswap surrounding those municipalities.
–with files from Trevor Crawley
