This article was written by James Smith and originally published by the North Delta Reporter
With population growth and underfunding leading to a lack of critical health services, Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation has joined forces with two other foundations to advocate on behalf of residents and patients in the South Fraser region.
The foundation and its counterparts supporting Langley Memorial Hospital and Peace Arch Hospital announced on Tuesday, Oct. 13 creation of the South Fraser Healthcare Alliance, a new coalition created to collectively advocate to the provincial government for equitable health-care access and fair health investment for the South Fraser Region.
The alliance is calling for health-care funding, infrastructure and capacity to keep pace with the population growth and increasing demand across one of British Columbia’s fastest-growing - and most underfunded - regions.
“Having lived in the region for more than 50 years, I know how important it is to have a strong, local hospital,” Peter Fassbender, chair of the South Fraser Healthcare Alliance and a director on Langley Community Health and Hospital Foundation’s 19-member board, said in a recent press release.
“Delta, Langley, South Surrey and White Rock are experiencing many of the same pressures as our population grows and demand increases. We established this alliance to speak with one voice and advocate for health-care investment and regional needs.”
The alliance’s release notes that together, Delta Hospital, Langley Memorial Hospital and Peace Arch Hospital form an interconnected network of community hospitals serving South Fraser, and that strengthening infrastructure and capacity at each will help more patients access timely medical services closer to home, while reducing pressure across the broader regional health-care system.
The alliance is urgently calling on the provincial government - regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s election - to take four key actions: establish fair and equitable funding for Fraser Health, invest in acute and long-term care beds, modernize and expand community hospitals to meet demand, and integrate health care into growth planning.
According to last week’s release, current analysis shows Fraser Health receives approximately $2,2621 per person in health-care funding annually, compared with $3,922 to $4,312 per person in other health authorities - a gap of around $1,300 to $1,700 per person.
It also notes Fraser Health has the lowest hospital bed capacity per capita among B.C. health authorities, at 1.06 acute care beds per 1,000 residents. The average wait time for a long-term care bed is 402 days in Fraser Health, compared with 290 days provincially.
“This leads to poor patient outcomes, inefficient use of government funds, and impacts on family earnings,” according to the alliance’s release.
“Increased investments are urgently needed to expand acute and long-term care capacity, reduce emergency department pressures, and meet the needs of one of the province’s fastest-growing and aging populations.”
For Delta resident Kerri Deane, the importance of having long-term care available close to home is deeply personal.
Both of her parents, Cliff and Sheila Cox, required long-term care in their final years. While her father received care at Mountain View Manor in Ladner, her mother following a stroke was initially placed in a care home outside of their community, making regular family visits more challenging.
When a bed became available at Mountain View Manor, Sheila was able to return to Ladner, where she spent her final three-and-a-half years surrounded by family and supported by compassionate caregivers.
“When Mom was first transferred to a long-term care home outside of our community, it added a great deal of stress during an already emotional time,” Deane said in a statement shared with media.
“Having her move back to Ladner made an enormous difference. Our family could visit more often, her grandchildren could stop in regularly, and she was able to remain connected to the community she called home.”
Stories like hers highlight the importance of accessible, community-based long-term care as South Fraser’s growing and aging population places increasing pressure on health-care capacity.
As part of modernizing and expanding community hospitals, the alliance is calling on the province to invest in surgical and ambulatory care, diagnostic imaging services, critical and cardiac care, and the infrastructure and equipment needed at all three member facilities to ensure more residents can receive timely diagnostic and preventative care closer to home.
The alliance also wants the province to ensure housing mandates and regional population growth are accompanied by corresponding investments in health-care infrastructure and capacity.
“Residents across the South Fraser region are experiencing the effects of a health-care system struggling to keep pace with the needs of our growing communities,” Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation CEO Lisa Hoglund said in a press release.
“When patients can’t access the appropriate level of care, the impacts are felt throughout the system, increasing pressure on hospitals, emergency departments, long-term care and community services. Addressing these capacity challenges is essential to ensuring residents can access timely, appropriate care closer to home.”
In addition to Fassbender and Hoglund, the South Fraser Healthcare Alliance includes Delta Hospital and Community Health Foundation board chair Rick Boates, Peace Arch Hospital and Community Health Foundation CEO Stephanie Beck, and Langley Community Health and Hospital Foundation executive director Carrisa Basham.
Many of the same people and organizations took part in a large rally at Delta’s Paterson Park in March to protest the B.C. government’s decision to “re-pace” seven long-term care projects - including the 200-bed Beedie Long-Term Care Centre being constructed to replace the 49-year-old Mountain View Manor adjacent to Delta Hospital - and call for equitalbe health-care funding south of the Fraser River.
For more information about the South Fraser Healthcare Alliance, visit southfraserhealth.ca