The opening of a new ICU, combined with continued construction of a HAU headlined development in local healthcare through 2023. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

SOME DEVELOPMENT

Top Stories of 2023: Major steps forward for healthcare services in Nanaimo

Dec 28, 2023 | 1:27 PM

NANAIMO — Despite still only scratching the surface of what’s needed for healthcare on the central Island, 2023 marked a year of significant steps forward for local residents.

The official opening of a new intensive care unit (ICU) at NRGH, combined with continued development of a neighbouring high acuity unit (HAU) headlined the year and meant near constant construction at the hospital.

Provincial officials were on hand at the end of June to mark the opening of the long-awaited 12-bed ICU, which replaced an aging, undersized and outdated facility on site which was once labeled as one of “the most dangerous” facilities of its kind in Canada.

“We heard the needs of people in Nanaimo, and I’m proud that our government responded with a new ICU that provides both a technological upgrade and an expansion in size to provide better healthcare services,” health minister Adrian Dix said at the official opening.

Larger single patient rooms, a medication room and family facilities were also included in the new space.

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Construction and outfitting of the ICU cost $41.6 million and is part of an ongoing $60.1 million project at the hospital.

Making up the balance is the currently-under-construction HAU, a separate 12-bed facility which will work in concert with the ICU.

The project received several funding boosts in 2023, including massive efforts by the Nanaimo District Hospital Foundation.

In addition to their year-round campaigns, the NDHF more than doubled their $100,000 goal during Giving Tuesday in early December.

“That was an ambitious goal for us, it was only our second Giving Tuesday…the phones had been literally ringing off the hook, our online system even had a little bit of a meltdown,” Barney Ellis-Perry, NDHF CEO told NanaimoNewsNOW at the time.

The HAU is projected to open in summer 2024 and will replace an eight-bed temporary facility at the hospital.

Long awaited Nanaimo cancer centre
In addition to tangible progress with key projects in Nanaimo, a hospital which effectively serves all Island residents between the Malahat and Comox Valley, the provincial government committed or otherwise supported a number of other initiatives.

Premier David Eby visited Nanaimo in May to re-affirm provincial support for a cancer care centre in Nanaimo, a proposal included in the NDP’s 2020 provincial election campaign.

Many cancer patients in Nanaimo, or elsewhere on the Island, must either travel daily to Victoria or the Lower Mainland to receive adequate and needed treatment.

“This new cancer centre will provide services people can rely on with the latest technology so a cancer-free future can be the reality for more people in B.C.,” Dix said on May 26. “Nanaimo is a rapidly growing community, so it’s important that we continue to meet the demand for healthcare services.”

Barring further delay, cancer centres in both Nanaimo and Kamloops are scheduled to open in 2027 and cost between $200 to $300 million each.

Long term care
Residents in Lantzville will see construction begin in the coming years on an expansive, 306-bed long term care facility.

Announced in October, the project is expected to cost over $280 million and will include a 20-bed hospice unit and 26-bed specialized population unit.

Dix said the beds are “net new”, meaning no other facilities are closing as a result and the government is playing catchup from a “generational failure” to fund long term care and create spaces.

“We need in long term care to work on ensuring people have their own rooms because it’s their homes, it’s not just a healthcare facility. We have to make sure long term care beds are better, safer and more modern.”

A key component of the facility will be residents living in smaller groups, mimicking the wider community.

““People will be able to have facilities where they stay close to home because we have a new long term care home that meets the needs of people in the community,” Dix added. “That means people living together in neighbourhoods, or pods, of 12, living together in long term care”

The project is currently out for tender with an expected 2025 construction commencement and 2027 completion.

Local calls for more help
Despite advanced in several key areas, the Nanaimo region remains extremely underserved for healthcare resources, according to local officials and stakeholders.

An aging population, combined with a rapidly growing one, forced healthcare and local governmental leaders to publicly call in August for additional investment into central Island healthcare.

Of specific request was a cardiac catherization lab at NRGH which would serve residents north of the Malahat.

Dr. Dave Coupland, president of the NRGH medical staff association said in August, there were two standards of care on the Island, depending on which site of the Malahat you were on.

He added people were left with no options and left with poor or fatal health outcomes because of a lack of advanced services outside of Victoria.

“We have one cardiologist and a second coming at NRGH, few cardiac services and no cardiac cath lab. Versus the south Island which was 21 to 22, two cardiac cath labs, all cardiac services and cardiac surgery.”

Dr. Hesam Keshmiri, the lead cardiologist at NRGH, echoed the calls, saying the central and north Island areas are home to the highest heart attack rates in the province.

“The more time that elapses without the patient having the artery opened up, the higher chance of morbidity, mortality and complications.”

The announcement from local officials came roughly four months after a self-admittedly “cranky old man” Mayor Leonard Krog made an empassioned plea for Nanaimo residents to take a more active role in campaigning for healthcare services.

He said local government, including the Regional District of Nanaimo, is doing its part through budgeting, but pressure needs to come from everywhere.

“If you really want to make change and really want to assist your fellow citizens and yourselves and your loved ones, then for Heaven’s sake get off your duffers and contact the politicians who need to make these decisions and make this the priority it needs to be.”

Healthcare continued to be the primary driver through the remainder of the year, especially around the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District board table.

Members unanimously, albeit reluctantly, approved a 28 per cent increase to property taxes for residents between Cedar and Bowser.

Money will go towards funding local healthcare initiatives and capital funding requests from Island Health.

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