ATHABASCA – With the upcoming re-opening of the Boyle Healthcare Centre on the horizon, local municipal leaders are focusing on the next question for regional healthcare; what does the future of local healthcare look like for Athabasca County?
During an Aug. 2 meeting between Lac La Biche mayor Paul Reutov, Athabasca County reeve Brian Hall, Village of Boyle mayor Colin Derko, and Town of Athabasca mayor Rob Balay, the four discussed how their municipalities could work together to present a united front to Alberta Health Services (AHS), which lead to a Aug. 4 press release from Lac La Biche County.
“We always see each other at various events, and healthcare is certainly something that we talk about,” said Hall in an Aug. 9 interview. “These are just a more formalized way for us to sit down and have these conversations. Lac La Biche had asked for letters of support in the past, and this is a continuance down a similar path.”
According to the press release, the William J. Cadzow Hospital in Lac La Biche will be designated the “primary healthcare centre for the region,” meaning that an Athabasca-region residents would be referred there for services instead of St. Albert or Edmonton when possible. Both Derko and Hall stressed the same point; whether you live in the town, county, or village, local healthcare won’t be negatively affected by this designation.
“The Lac La Biche hospital has two surgical rooms and amenities that other hospitals in the region don’t have,” said Reutov in a Aug. 10 interview with Lakeland This Week. “Therefore, it is imperative to utilize our local hospital to its fullest potential.”
Hall addressed the concerns in a more formal setting during the Aug. 10 committee of the whole meeting; Coun. Tracy Holland said that ratepayers had noticed a Facebook post from Reutov that used the same language, and she had fielded calls after the statement that Lac La Biche’s hospital would be treated as the primary healthcare centre brought up concerns from Athabasca residents.
“The goal is community health, and building a strong region,” said Hall. “If you’re presenting with a stroke in Athabasca you already need to go to Westlock or Lac La Biche because we aren’t a stroke centre, so it’s not about tearing down one to build up the other. We don’t want things happening where Boyle is closing down their hospital the same day they’re having a rodeo.”
The major point Hall stressed was having better healthcare in Lac La Biche didn’t mean there would be worse healthcare in the town or the village.
“This work takes nothing away from the Athabasca or Boyle hospital; one way that we’ve talked about it is having one hospital with really long hallways,” said Hall. “They (Lac La Biche) have access to facilities that are unavailable for Athabasca and Boyle. We shouldn’t get or expect second best just because we don’t live in a city.”
Cole Brennan, TownandCountryToday.com
