Sunshine Coast residents are getting a much-anticipated chance to hear directly from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) about its plan to close two long-term care facilities and purchase bed space in a private development.
VCH is holding a community meeting on Sept. 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre.
VCH chief executive officer Mary Ackenhusen said the health authority has been a bit surprised by the opposition to closing Shorncliffe and Totem Lodge, and entering into a contract for beds at the proposed Silverstone Care Centre.
“We really want to have an opportunity to discuss those [areas of concern] because we think if they’re well understood the community will be excited about this project,” she said.
Ackenhusen said one concern VCH is keen to tackle Monday is the perception that privately delivered long-term care will be lower quality. “We have lots of checks and balances around that,” she said. “In fact, about 25 per cent of our current care in Vancouver Coastal is under a private model and we find no distinction between the quality of the care in the facilities that we run and the quality of care in the ones that are run by private operators.”
It’s unclear at this point if the company behind Silverstone, Trellis Seniors Services, will send a representative. The company has its own public meeting planned for Sept. 19 (5 to 7 p.m. at the Sechelt Legion).
Meanwhile, opponents of the plan are calling for people to fill the hall for the VCH meeting. A flyer being circulated by the Sunshine Coast Council of Senior Citizens (COSCO) says the meeting is a chance for the community to “demand that it be involved” in VCH’s decision making.
Opposition to the plan was also front-and-centre at the annual Labour Day picnic in Gibsons, where Hospital Employees Union secretary-business manager Jennifer Whiteside delivered the keynote speech.
“They [VCH and the provincial government] say they can’t afford to refurbish these two aging care homes or build a new public facility for frail seniors on the Sunshine Coast,” Whiteside told the crowd. “Instead they want to pour public dollars into a construction firm to build a long-term care home that will no longer be owned by us, by the community.”
During his chance to address picnic-goers, local MLA Nicholas Simons said, “Vancouver Coastal Health and the provincial government should not have been surprised that this community has reacted so angrily to their proposal.”
– With files from Jacob Roberts
