Ministry of Health assigns greater role to public sector in continuing care in Hinton

The Alberta Ministry of Health has announced an important decision to take over the operation of the supportive living facility in Hinton that is currently run by the private, not-for-profit Good Samaritan Society.

In a press release today, the ministry said the Mountain View Centre in Hinton has been purchased by Alberta Health Services, which will soon deliver public care and services for the region’s seniors, eventually including long-term care. AHS will take full ownership of the site by March 31, 2018.

There will be no layoffs as a result of the sale and staffing levels at the facility will remain the same, the news release said. AHS staff will take over nursing support, personal care and recreational and social programming, in addition to the case management they already provide.

The centre now has 37 supportive living suites and a 15-space dementia care cottage, which is designed to create a home-like setting for residents with dementia.

AHS will work to identify needs for long-term care spaces at the Hinton facility and will develop a plan to address those needs, the news release said. Operation of long-term care would require the presence of a Registered Nurse on the premises at all times.

“Helping seniors age in the communities they call home, close to their families and support networks, is a priority for our government,” Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said during a news conference in Hinton today. “For years, the community of Hinton has faced uncertainty and frustration after the previous government cut service levels and downgraded seniors’ care. We’re committed to helping Alberta seniors age with dignity close to home and this decision honours that commitment.”

Friends of Medicare praised the government’s decision to step back from privatization and heavy marketization of essential health care services that has been a trend for many years in Alberta.

“For decades the trend in continuing care was to increase the role of the private sector and close public beds,” said Friends of Medicare Executive Director Sandra Azocar. She called ministry’s recognition of the role of the public sector in providing health care services a significant and positive change.

Azocar called today’s announcement “a step in the right direction” toward making Alberta “a leader where high quality public care, with no profit-motive, and excellent levels of training and staffing are the norm.”

There is a continued identified need for long-term care in Hinton, added Joel French, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. The Hinton facility was originally built to provide long-term care, but was downgraded to the lower supportive living level by the previous government in what French called “a misguided attempt to save costs at patient expense.”