Backstop funding discussed for hospice

By Sharon McLeay Times Contributor

Sitting on the board for Wheatland Housing, Wheatland County Reeve Glenn Koester tested Wheatland County council’s stream of thought as to whether they might support funding for the proposed area hospice.
Koester said there was a request from the Wheatland and Area Hospice Society to be listed under the Wheatland Housing Management Body. He suggested the money proposed could be generated under the requisitions given by the province, derived from education taxes, to Wheatland Housing.
“I think we have seen what community support is out there for the hospice,” said Wheatland County Councillor Jason Wilson. “I think communities all across the county have shown huge support. I would rather put money here than somewhere else.”
Koester said the hospice society had done successful fundraising, but if council accepted requisition powers for them through Wheatland Housing, it would provide them with some security.
“I don’t believe we would be on the hook for the complete $1.5 million, because in most areas they run on donations and they run along quite smoothly,” said Koester. “It would be a backstop for them.”
Councillor Ben Armstrong stated that a portion of his division may not use the hospice services, as residents are closer to a Drumheller hospice facility. He was not against support, but suggested there should be some kind of adjustment for the money contributed through taxes for the residents in the northeast area of his division.
Koester stated adjustments could be made similar to other programs administered through the county, such as ambulance services funding structures.
There was a question whether the county could get Alberta Health Services (AHS) to contribute money to the initiative. However, it was pointed out that sometimes when initiatives by the community turned successful, AHS has stepped in and taken control away from community-run programs.
Koester said AHS would need to negotiate terms with them if they were to be involved.
“Funding (from AHS) equals loss of control … with control comes with a price tag,” said Koester.
Overall, councillors backed the idea of support for the hospice.
“This is what local government should be doing and not waiting on the province to be funding this model,” said Councillor Tom Ikert. “The feeling I get from this is it will be a self-sustaining operation.”
Deputy Reeve Scott Klassen said he would like to propose funding on a shorter term, until it proved out what was needed.
There are some other ideas in the community about other health initiatives and it was suggested a funding pool could be created where applicants could apply for funding. There was also the question of how the county could deal with patients from outside county boundaries who utilize outside health facilities.
Council directed administration to gather information, with suggestions and implications of different funding models, and bring it back to council for decision.