Underfunding is delaying the expansion of the Squamish General Hospital, but the long-awaited Hilltop House expansion is assured, according to the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA).
The Sea to Sky Regional Hospital Board last week agreed to reallocate $750,000 to make up for budgetary shortfalls on projects to expand the Hilltop House and the Squamish General Hospital emergency unit, but could not secure VCHA assurances that the latter project would proceed on schedule.
The board, meeting last Thursday (Sept. 20) in Pemberton, reallocated money that had been earmarked for construction of a basement as future expansion space at Hilltop House. The move to put $375,000 more money into each project was a response to a VCHA letter advising the board that the Hilltop House was facing a $1 million shortfall and the emergency room expansion was some $640,000 underfunded.
But in spite of the new money, Francis Halle, VCHA senior facilities project leader, said he could only assure the board that the project to expand the long-term care facilities at Hilltop House was definitely going ahead.
"I've got enough to move forward on Hilltop," Halle said of the project, which is now projected to cost $19.6 million.
Halle said he needed to get more information on pricing and direction from the VCHA board before saying whether the plan to expand the waiting room, add a holding room for psychological patients and increase the number of triage spaces from eight to 12 at the hospital emergency room will proceed on schedule. He said it might be necessary to raise more money.
In a letter to the board, VCHA officials said they still need to address the funding shortfall on the emergency unit expansion."The SGH Emergency Triage renovations are on hold, pending our ability to fund the project," said the letter, dated Sept. 13. The projected cost is now $2.615 million.
Raj Kahlon, Squamish councillor and hospital district board member, said he was comfortable with the way the priorities had been arranged. "It will be a lot easier to fundraise for emergency than for Hilltop," Kahlon said, "but my first priority is Hilltop."
Francis assured Mayor Ian Sutherland that the board members weren't putting the emergency room expansion project in jeopardy.
