Coast Mountain News Thursday, August 29, 2013
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RCMP Summer Student enjoys hometown post.
Vol. 29 | No. 18 Thursday, August 29, 2013
Serving the Bella Coola Valley and the Chilcotin CoastMountainNews.com
Serving the Bella Coola Valley and the Chilcotin Page
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Chum salmon returns have been plentiful in Bella Coola this year
(Michael Wigle photo)
Vancouver Coastal Health ends agreement with United Church Health Services BY CAITLIN THOMPSON Community members received a mail-out last weekend from the United Church Health Services Society (UCHSS) detailing the termination of their affiliation agreement with Vancouver Coastal Health. The transfer of all programs and services from UCHSS to VCH will be complete by June 2014. Although VCH’s present agreement with the United Church dates back to 2001, the United Church has provided health care on B.C.’s central coast for 124 years. For the first 60 years it was largely funded by the church. In 1889, Dr. Albert Bolton traveled
by boat throughout the Central Coast offering medicine and surgeries. He started the first hospital in River’s Inlet, and in 1902 a new seven-bed hospital was built in Bella Bella. In 1927, the embattled Bella Coola Hospital Board asked The United Church of Canada to take over its operations. Fast-forward to the 1990s, when local hospital boards were fighting to keep local, community control of health. In 2001 the province proposed streamlining administration into ‘super-boards,’ and the denominational facilities, which included the United Church hospitals, managed to retain local, com-
munity control with their own hospital boards in affiliation with a health authority. Although the United Church was once responsible for 32 hospitals in isolated locations across Canada, this latest termination will see United Church hospitals reduced to just two: Hazelton, B.C., and Lamont, Alberta. While UCHSS Board Chair Lynn Nelson is saddened to see the agreement end, she is also very proud of the work that the United Church has done on behalf of the people of the Central Coast. “The United Church has a long-time, significant relation-
ship with the communities of the Central Coast,” said Nelson. “The patients we serve are our neighbours, friends, colleagues, and family, and yet we maintain an impeccable record of confidentiality and professionalism.” “Our team initiated programs for the recruitment and retention of rural physicians and other staff 40 years ago – far ahead of other health institutions in Canada,” Nelson continued. “Our most valuable contribution has been employing such a gifted, committed team of care professionals, over such a significant history – from before the flu of 1918, to after the 1980s AIDS crisis. We are
very proud of our record of offering our communities world-class health care, in a rural, isolated setting.” VCH did not consult directly with the community before the decision, but its executives and staff did meet with Bella Coola General Hospital Council, staff, physicians, and the Nuxalk Nation Chief and Council earlier in August to begin the transition in Bella Coola and Bella Bella. VCH claims that the reason for the termination is to provide better governance and services to the two hospitals on the Central Coast. SEE THE UNITED ON PAGE 3