Drumheller Standing Committee on Health is advocating to Alberta Minister of Health Jason Copping to make the Drumheller Health Centre a rural healthcare centre of excellence, and has the support of several surrounding municipalities.
Committee Chair Keith Hodgson presented the draft letter to Drumheller town council at the regular Monday, December 19 council meeting; the letter has already received support from several other municipalities in the area, including Kneehill, Starland and Wheatland Counties, and the villages of Carbon, Morrin, and Munson.
“In the past, in 2002 when the hospital opened up, it was identified as a regional hospital; as things progressed, through various changes in healthcare, it became more centralized and more centralized, and Drumheller was seen less and less as important to the big picture,” Mr. Hodgson tells the Mail.
In mid-November, new Premier Danielle Smith outlined priorities in a mandate letter to Minister Copping. Among these priorities, Minister Copping has been directed to “assess the effectiveness” of healthcare facilities, address staffing challenges in rural areas, and “take immediate, tangible steps” to improve emergency medical service (EMS) response times.
The letter notes the Drumheller Health Centre currently offers numerous services, including a 24-hour emergency room and a community cancer centre, to a catchment area of some 36,000 people. It is already recognized as a “rural hub for southeastern Alberta,” however, the letter also notes the operating room is under-utilized like many other rural hospitals and health centres.
By better utilizing the facility, it could help reduce strain on the ambulatory system by reducing the need for interfacility transfers.
Once an ambulance travels into larger centralized zones, such as Red Deer, they often get caught up in what is called “the vortex” where AHS dispatches the nearest available ambulance to an incoming call.
“That’s good for the person who needs immediate care, but it leaves the rural areas more exposed,” Mr. Hodgson says.
He adds, by better utilizing the hospital, this could also benefit the community by drawing more healthcare professionals to the area. The committee held a weekend program for fourth year nursing students in 2019 to highlight rural healthcare, and says the response was well received, with some five or six student nurses applying for positions at the local hospital who may not have otherwise.
“We just want to remind AHS we’re here, and we’re ready, and we’re able, and we’ve got the facility. With some better staffing and better training, we could quickly ramp up-it’s not like needing to take the time to build a new facility, because we’ve got the facility,” Mr. Hodgson says.
Council unanimously agreed to send the letter to Minister Copping.
