eee [eSLppan aton aga a ae a am am ai pram res cerari AST vali SMOKE ALARM. suzan Ross-Goldie, a health educator for the B.C Lung Association, will speak to students at Kiti K’Shan and Cassie Hall schools Nov. 13 and 14 about the health hazards of smoking tobacco. Her presentation emphasizes the importance of fresh air to human health and the problems caused by indoor and outd cor air pollution. The Lung Association recently began its annual Christmas Seal campaign, one of its major sources of funds. Improvements The Kitimat-Stikine Regional Hospital District has agreed to pay its 40 percent share for two minor capital projects at Mills Memorial Hospital, $21,000 main entrance doors and a néw $17,000 dish- washer, The 60 percent balance of these two items will be paid for by the Ministry of Health. Electric doors at the main entrance will make access to the hospital easier for out-patients and disabled visitors. The new com- ‘mercial dishwasher will be replac- AN EETEEEIE =e (Pat) oe SAAARHARAAAN l‘} | step further. ANVNKKUULLUE { KEN’S MARINE Nee siti ati atin atti atti proved | Mills Men Introducing the VMax-4, the beginning of a new era of performance from Yamaha. When Yamaha put its mind to building a high performance sled, the - designers went one {~ orial ing an older unit which is no longer serviceable or repairable. A third project, already approved by. the RHD, is still in the planning stage. A new pharma- cy located on the second floor next to intensive care will add greatly to the convenience and efficiency of care. The RHD will soon be considering an addition to this project, a $35,000 fume hood the pharmacy has never had but which is required to comply with WCB - regulations. LOCKCEIMAMABIALLIUICUVKEUILNII, New Rules. f\ ne te ” KWH) THE FUTURE Some said Yamaha couldn't build a high-performance sled. We proved them wrong. They built the future of snowmobiling, See the newest era of performance at your Yamaha dealer today. a AURRVRERRRRURR\SS Ken Gibson (604) 635-2809 4946 Greig Ave. Terrace, B.C. V8G 1N4 Terrace Review — Wednesday, October 30, 1991 13 Regional board supports The Kitimat-Stikine Regional Hospital District (RHD) has offered support in principle for a proposal that would see planning for the replacement of Kitimat General Hospital begin next year. The Kitimat hospital was one of the original structures in Alcan’s planned city, Kitimat RHD director Ray Brady says it was over-sized and inefficient then, and the situation is far worse now, . Several replacement options are available. Supported by the RHD is a new 50-bed hospital, a 35-bed long-term care facility, and a health centre. Preliminary cost estimates range from $26.4 mil- lion for a hospital and separate long-term care and health centre, and $28.1 million for an integrated facility. Options rejected by the RHD were a $19.1 million upgrade of the existing building to minimum building code requirements, a $24.1 million renovation project with no new construction, and a major renovation project valued at $25.5 million. None of these options, according to a consul- - tant’s report, would address all the functional inefficiencies at KGH. A review of KGH inefficien- cies began in 1988 with funding from the Ministry of Health and RHD on a 60/40 basis, To conduct the review a steering committee, which included Kitimat General, the RHD and Ministry of Health, employed the Health Manage- ‘ment Resource Group (HMRG). . In June of last year HMRG submitted a Master Plan document : that recommended the replace- ment of the existing hospital. It > Ke Heal efi heh cH ekcRah ke Goh chad Eos kr Rah Red cheG che Rod Hod cK ehehe Rol Mah sh Poh cKohoh Rel sk che Poho Pele CED a) CT 9d od ge 2d oC) ee gd od gt 0 OE at od a) fd ot OO 0 td tt td Sr oe 0 od Ed Ed tt os 0 dO oe ty was based on the consultant’s con- clusion that major renovations or. construction would save little money and would not fully rectify inefficiencies. The steering committee was not able to reach a consensus on the consultant’s report and in January of this year recommended that two more studies be done, The first would review HMRG cost options, and the second would | Kitimat hospital plan undertake a seismic study to deter- mine the risk of earthquake dam- age in the existing building. The first study confirmed costs, while the second determined there may be some risk of movement and damage to the existing build- ing in the event of an earthquake. Tt was with this information that the steering committee met in September and recommended the construction of a new facility. New Stewart medical centre to — cost $6 million The Kitimat-Stikine Regional Hospital District (RHD) has told the Ministry of Health they are committed to the construction of a _new integrated health care facility in Stewart. Replacement of the Stewart hospital was first suggest- ed about three years ago, and plans for a community health care centre were accelerated earlier this year when an explosion rendered Stewart General unusable. Current cost.estimates for a new facility range between $5 mil- lion to $6 million, well above the original estimate of $3.5 million, but the RHD finds the increase acceptable. The original estimate overlooked a few code require- ments, and any cost cuts would detract from the idea of a truly ‘integrated health care facility, the board concluded at a meeting two weeks ago. — The Stewart General Hospi board came up with the concept for an integrated community health care centre in 1988, The vision included a 10-12 bed acute care unit, public and mental health offices, social services and an ambulance station. In March, 1989, the RHD adopted a resolution of support-in- principle for the concept and lob- bied the provincial government for support. Later that year the province approved the idea and allocated 60 percent of the funds for preliminary planning. The RHD assumed responsibility for the remaining 40 percent of the planning fund. On Feb. 22, 1991, however, the planning schedule was altered drastically. It was on that day that a worker using a front end loader to remove snow from the hospital parking lot severed a propane pipe between the hospital’s emergency electrical generator and an exterior 1,000 gallon propane tank. Leaking propane filled the lower level of the building and an explosion was triggered when the bumer of a thermostatically-con- trolled oil furnace ignited. No one was injured - the only nurse in the building left before the explosion occurred. Damage to the building was extensive. The explosion buckled. a 400-square-foot section of the - roof, moved some walls outwards . about four inches, broke about 25 percent of the windows in the building, and touched off a fire in the roof. . A few months later an acceler- ated planning schedule was in . place. And a while after that replacement cost was estimated to. be within $5 million at the- schematic design stage. At the pre- liminary design stage, however, it became apparent that additional costs would be incurred to meet various code requirements. A sec- ond cost estimate was done which set the value of the project at just over $6.39 million. A few cost adjustments were considered, but both the architect and SGH building committee con- cluded their options were limited. Any changes to the plan would compromise the underlying phi- losophy of a community health centre. Still, some compromise was made, and a new cost estimate . of about $5.6 million has been attached to the project. IMPROVING YOUR ODDS AGAINST CANADA'S #1 KILLER. HEART ANO STROKE FOUNDATION OF BC & YUKON name and address of acknowledgement card. A thoughtful way to remember is with an In Memoriam gift to the Heart and Stroke Founda- tion of B.C. and Yukon. Please mail your donation to the above address and include the name of the deceased, your name and address, as well as the Maggie Park #209-4526 Park Ave., Terrace, B.C. V8G IVI 638-1167 the next-of-kin for an