Long-term care scheduled to be cut at Strathmore hospital

Times Reporter 

 

Last week, on April 9, Alberta Health Services called family members of long-term care residents in to a meeting to discuss the future of the services provided at the hospital. 

The 23 residents of the long-term care will be moved to Sagewood to occupy some of the 35 new beds opening in the fall. The long-term care area of the hospital is cited for other uses, which are still to be officially announced some time later this year. 

While families and the community are impacted by this change, some of the people affected the most are the nurses and general service providers currently working in long-term care. 

Glen Scott, Vice-President with Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), represents many of the affected employees. He is outraged at the way things are being handled, and worries about where these employees will go. Originally the number of employees affected was estimated at 19. Scott says it will be much more than that. 

“It’s more than 19, the numbers I was given just for auxiliary nursing staff was 23 to 27 could be affected and that doesn’t include all the support staff, so really it will be a lot higher,” said Scott. 

He is guessing that once all is said and done there will be approximately 60 people whose jobs will be affected by the closing of the long-term care at the hospital. He said under the collective agreement that those employees have, they can apply for other positions or fill vacancies within AHS, but there’s nowhere for them to go.

“Some of them will be able to displace other people in the Strathmore Hospital because of seniority, but at the end of the day, 60 people are going to be displaced, so where are they going to go?,” said Scott.

“Yeah, there could be vacancies or they could (go to) Calgary, but really you think people are going to want to drive to Calgary to work every day? I’m not saying nobody would but somebody that’s in their 50’s or their 60’s? There are some people that might not even have cars, that just walk to work in Strathmore.” 

“I’m very concerned about the job loss of course, and I am sure that will affect the economy here in Strathmore, but hopefully they can find jobs locally in other areas (of nursing),” said Mayor Steve Grajczyk. 

He is hoping that many of those affected will apply for a position with Sagewood, though he does recognize the fact that jobs are not guaranteed for the soon-to-be former long term care hospital employees, something he and council have no control of. Grajczyk is also worried about how the move will affect the residents being relocated. 

“Every time you move seniors it’s a stressful situation for them but it’s a situation where the government has mandated this and I am concerned about the move, but once again, and I’m not trying to sound fluffy about it, but we have no control over that and I’m just concerned that their cost will go up unreasonably,” he said.

When the government announced they would be closing Little Bow Continuing Care Centre in Carmangay it was in June and the plan was to close the facility at the end of the summer. The announcement was made with as little notice as possible, which didn’t really give anyone a chance to respond or complain, said Scott. Though families were told their loved ones would remain nearby, many were scattered to different facilities in the province and those who once visited their loved ones daily were forced to deal with long drives that don’t always make daily trips feasible.   

“In Strathmore the only reason that the staff at the hospital actually got to find out when they did is because Alberta Health Services had sent a letter to the families of the people that are in the long-term care facility there and it was leaked out and rumours started so they had to let the staff know,” said Scott. 

He feels that AHS would have held off as long as possible for letting people know because if people are informed early enough they could go find other employment leaving AHS stuck in the interim until the transition is completed. 

Scott said another scary thing for those people is their pensions are tied to those jobs, and that this isn’t just a loss of jobs, it’s a loss of security in their golden years.

“It’s brutal and why? Because Alberta Health Services and more particularly the Redford government is promoting these for-profit operators to come in to all the communities in Alberta. Strathmore is not the first community that’s been hit but it’s one of the first, there’s going to be lots more coming,” said Scott.

“Alberta Health Services is saying, ‘oh you know we’re going to grandfather these 23 seniors in.’ That’s all good and well if they live up to their word even, that’s good for those people. What happens to everybody after those 23, what happens to your grandma or grandfather when they get older, or your mom and dad? If they want to stay in Strathmore they’re going to pay.”

Strathmore-Brooks MLA Jason Hale was also upset when he heard the news.

“It is with disappointment I heard of this sudden and alarming decision made by Alberta Health Services to forcibly relocate long term care patients at the Strathmore Hospital,” said Hale in a press release.

“In typical PC government fashion, the Minister of Health has blindsided families and patients and has made this rash decision with no consultation or consideration of the people it will affect. This decision will undoubtedly throw the lives of patients and their loved ones into uncertainty and chaos. 

“Further, it will force long-term care patients into a facility intended for lower levels of care. As AHS bureaucrats keep collecting their bonuses and increasing their operating budgets, they continue to make cold, secretive decisions that undermine the quality of care vulnerable Albertans receive.”

Hale promises to continue to seek answers from the government, and has already been questioning the Health Minister in question period about the decision made here in Strathmore.