Oilfields General Hospital staff are resting easy knowing their patients’ needs will be met following the completion of a much-needed $400,000 upgrade.
The Province’s Infrastructure Maintenance Program (IMP) funded the replacement of the hospital’s 32-year-old nurse call system in the Black Diamond facility’s acute and long term care. The system allows patients to call health care staff members from their beds.
Carla Ralph, the hospital site manager, said the previous system was reaching the end of its life as it was installed when the facility was built 32 years ago.
“It was getting more and more challenging to find parts to repair and there was ongoing maintenance,” she said.
The last of the call buttons for the 17 acute care beds, 30 long-term care beds and nine stretcher bays were installed last September, Ralph said.
She said it is just one of a few needs on the hospital’s running list for IMP funding.
“We always have a list of priorities,” she said. “We look at a three to five year window of what we are anticipating is going to reach the end of its life or what facility upgrades are needed.”
Ralph said the call system was high on the priority list. If the old system failed, she said, it would have a major impact on the care of patients and residents.
“This way when they call for a nurse or assistance we can count on the technology working,” said Ralph. “We can count on ensuring that patient safety is in place.”
The last IMP funding the Oilfields General Hospital received covered the cost of replacing the chiller in the ventilation system about four years ago, said John Morton with Alberta Health Services (AHS) communications.
Projects slated for 2016 include renovations to the facility’s kitchen and parking lot, he said.
The Oilfields General Hospital’s nurse call system was among 270 projects province-wide that received a total of $104 million in 2014 and 2015, said Morton.
“AHS puts together a list of priority projects and submits that list to the government and the government approves the funding,” he said. “It’s based on available funding.”
Morton said IMP fully funds the projects, in partnership with Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Health, in an effort to ensure the facilities remain up to date and provide accessible, sustainable and quality health care to Albertans.
AHS submits a list of IMP priority projects, such as upgrades, repairs and renovation work, for the next three years to Alberta Health and Alberta Infrastructure to ensure the project meets the program’s criteria.
From there they are ranked from those requiring immediate action to ensure the safety and health of staff, patients and residents to those that can be addressed over time.
“We do a rolling list to help plan for the future,” Morton said. “If there’s a roof that’s 25 years old it’s still good, but you get a sense that in five to 10 years it’s not going to be good so you put it on the list.”
The IMP funding, in addition to other financial sources such as the Sheep River Health Trust, help make the Oilfields General Hospital a high quality facility, said Ralph.
“As a whole I think the community and our supporting communities are very happy with the services we provide,” she said. “We keep updated with best practice and equipment changes.”
