News | DrumhellerMail

Badlands Community Facility fundraisers top $1,000,000 and counting

    The Fundraising Committee for the Badlands Community Facility has surpassed the $1,000,000 mark in commitments to the fundraising effort.
    Jeff Hall, chair of the Badlands Community Facility Fundraising Committee says they have the commitment of $1,040,000 to the facility, and the fundraising efforts are just in their infancy.
    The funds have come through a number of routes including the highly successful Calgary Flames Alumni games, and the introduction of the Founders Club.
    The Founders Club is designed for individuals willing to take a leadership role and make a sizable commitment to the facility, and in turn are to be listed as Founders. Community minded individuals including Elson and Pat McDougald, Jay and Connie O’ Dwyer and Dan and Muriel McDermid all made a pledge as founders of $50,000 or more over five years.
    Hall says they will be wrapping up the Founders Club campaign at the end of January, and if anyone is interested in being named a Founder by making a donation, they can contact Hall at 403-823-7800.
    “We are grateful for those who have stepped to the plate, and this is one last opportunity for those we might not have contacted, to get in touch with us if they want to participate,” said Hall.
    He says the committee is launching into its next fundraising phase and focusing on corporate donations for the construction of Badlands Community Facility. The Mail reported in its January 20 edition that Freson IGA has committed $100,000 over five years to the project. This follows the generous donation of $500,000 committed by EnCana early on in the project. The committee is hoping other businesses in Drumheller, or that operate in Drumheller will also step forward to support the project.
    For more information on the Badlands Community Facility Project, and how to donate to the project, contact Jeff Hall at 403-823-7800.

New triage area for Drumheller Health Centre

    Renovations at the Drumheller Health Centre’s emergency department are currently underway to bring the facilities up to the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) standard with the creation of a triage room.
    This will provide an area for patients’ needs to be assessed by a registered nurse and for their treatment to be prioritized based on the severity of their condition.
    The CTAS standard was developed by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians. Its objectives are to “more accurately define patients’ needs for timely care and to allow emergency departments to evaluate their acuity level, resource needs and performance against certain operating objectives".
    As this triage standard did not exist for rural communities when the hospital was built in 2005, the Drumheller Health Centre carried out triage at a desk inside the emergency department.
    To get in line with the CTAS standard, work was started a few months ago and was put on hold during the H1N1 pandemic to be resumed in December.
    Bev Krabsen, site manager at the Drumheller Health Centre, explained to inSide Drumheller that the admitting area will be moved to the new section and will include a glass room for triage to give more visibility. The current admitting area will become an extension of the waiting room area and thus will increase its capacity.
    Due to tight infection control, Krabsen explained renovation work in the department has been barricaded off and staff has worked hard to keep the flow going as smooth as possible.
    Since the new facilities were built, the number of patients seen in the emergency department has increased dramatically.
    Fortunately, the Drumheller Associated Physicians drop-in clinic has helped relieve some of the pressure on the emergency department.
    The clinic, located on Riverside Drive, runs every week day from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., should be the first place of call for patients who would normally see their own doctor but are unable to get an immediate appointment.
    Once the triage renovations are completed, the next project at the Health Centre is to expand the waiting room area.

Students’ encounter with stranger renews safety awareness

    Parents are asked to review safety practices with their children after an incident involving two DCHS students raised some concern.
    Two female students were returning to school on Monday, January 18 at noon when they were approached by a man asking them for their assistance to try and get his truck unlocked. The students declined, however the man asked them again for assistance and began to walk towards the youngsters. The students fled the scene and returned to school.
    No one was harmed in the incident.
    This week, students at DCHS, Greentree School and St. Anthony’s School took home letters from administration to inform parents about the event. The letter says police have been informed about the incident and statements have been taken.
    Anne Morgan, principal at Greentree School says teachers have reviewed with students basic safety practices when dealing with strangers. The letter serves as a reminder to parents to review basic safety concepts including:
• Not to walk alone.
• Do not talk to strangers.
•    Stick to known routes and avoid alleyways.
•    Under no circumstances, get into a vehicle, or try to assist others.
• If you feel threatened, run to a house for safety, or call out loudly or scream.
• If there is an incident, report it to the school administration and your parents.
    Staff Sergeant Art Hopkins told inSide Drumheller these sort of incidents are uncommon.
    “It is very rare. It is not a common occurrence to say the least. Most parents have done a good job in street-proofing their kids, but this brings renewal to the urgency,” he said. “It’s like a fire drill. The more you practice, the more you bring it to the surface, the quicker people will react to it and realize this isn’t right, this is what I should do.”

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