Friday, April 27, 2012
Major expansion gets green light at Vernon Jubilee Hospital
Overcrowding at Vernon Jubilee Hospital is being addressed. Health Minister Michael de Jong announced Friday that
the two upper, shelled-in floors in the Polson tower will be developed
for acute care beds. "People emphasized their view of the need," said de
Jong referring to community lobbying to end patients being kept in
hallways and surgeries being cancelled. A firm cost for the capital project hasn't been determined, but it could be more than $20 million. A planning process will be launched to identify how
many beds will be opened and the timeframe, although construction could
begin in spring 2013. De Jong says operating dollars for the two floors have been committed although those figures haven't been finalized yet. Dr. Ed Hardy, president of VJH medical staff, is pleased with Friday's announcement, but he is awaiting further details. "How many beds will be surgical or medical? Will we be able to decommission some old beds?" he said. Eric Foster, Vernon-Monashee MLA, who lobbied for the two floors is pleased to see the process moving ahead. "We've got great health care now and we will soon have super health care," he said.
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