"says Mills Memorial to see more construction over next decade EXPECT MILLS Memorial Hospital to be on_ the Northern Health Authority’s major construction project list over. the next decade, the chief operating officer of. the Northern Health Authority. And it will. more ‘than likely take the form of re- placing older portions of the hospital as part of a phased in’ development, says Mal- _colm Maxwell. The . hospital’s, main structure was’ built in the 1950s and there have been additions since then, ' “For something like this, for a major project, we'll first need to talk to the re- gional hospital district and also with the province,” said Maxwell of: the costs involved. The North West Region- al Hospital District raises money through — regional taxation which then goes to new equipment and con- struction. Generally speak- ing, it finances 40 per cent of equipment and construc- tion projects. Overall, Max- well described Mills as be- ‘ing in fairly good shape but added “it-won’t last forever, either.” The one advantage hos- pital planners have at. Mills is that there is plenty of land= available for new construc- - tion. New hospital facilities nowadays emphasis group- ing of services to make day . to day functions more cffi- cient. » As an example, Maxwell pointed to the new inten- sive care unit at Mills which was placed right: beside the emergency room which was renovated at the same time. Patients can now be eas- Malcolm Maxwell ily transferred from the ER to the ICU if need be and ‘ nurses in each unit can more réadily assist each other, “The last time | was there, two'or three of the nurses came up to me and said it was working well. That's what you want to hear,” said Maxwell. Also on the health au- thority’s major construction project list is the hospital in Fort St. John which has been © under pressure because of a growing area population and the resulting need for more services... : i But smaller hospitals in. places: such as Burns Lake, Fort. St. James and, Queen’ Charlotte City are also in need of major work or re- placement and need to be factored into any overhaul health authority construction plan, Maxwell added. “y think any ‘fair- minded . person, when looking” ¢ those facilities, would say is time something hap- pened there,” he said. - As for on-going projects, anew hospital in Masset on the Queen Charlotte Islands is now under construction, HIV rates in the northwest are on the rise HIV ‘northwestern communities are rising. rates “in Terrace ‘and other - Since June, ~Northern Health has uricovered seven new cases of HIV be- tween Houston, Terrace, Kitimat and -Prince Rupert. Chief medical officer - for Northern Health won’t give a com- munity by” ‘community breakdown but says the i increasing levels of HIV rates are worrisome, — Last June Bowering issued a plea to. people in Terrace who use intravenous (IV) drugs or who visit prostitutes to have themselves screened for the dis- ease. The plea came on the heels of two new HIV cases, being discovered. in Terrace in just one week — twice the =7 - Friday, December Ist © 1lam-4pm_ ae - Saturday, December 2nd. ¢ 10am-4pm “Venue: Hospital for Christmas. 3 Crafts & * Goodies yearly average of cases being discov- ered. Between 1995 and 2005 only one new case of HIV infection was record-— ed in Terrace each year. "Six of the seven new cases since June have been found in Terrace and communities west of Terrace ‘to the Queen Charlotte Islands. - "Tm a little reluctant to [break’ tlie cases down by community] for a couple, reasons,” says Dr. Bowering. “Because - the communities are small...when you start talking about risk factors people can sometimes know who it is.” Because soine of those people with HIV are often also transient, he says some people may move between com- . shat BLMeRL A Musical Comedy Music an Assigned Seating Thursday $10 Tel 212-541-4664 Fox CALEDONIA PERFORMING ARTS | MUSICAL 2006” Book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell lyri Richard Adler and Jerry Ross Based on the novel 7 2 Cents by Richard Bi ; Advance tickets from - MISTY RIVER BOOKS CAL-PERFORMING ARTS Friday & Y Saturday $15 STUDENTS ~- ALL SHOWS AT 8 PM December 7, 8, 9 R.E.M. Lee Theatre, Terrace ; The Pajama Gai sented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International Mt All culhoreg pavormancs oth gee DMM 4 421 West 54° Street, New York, nA iho VW ¥2-397-4688" www. MTIShows.com . Munities, making the accurate figure’ difficult to track. He says the higher IV: drug trans- inission rates are a concern across the | north. | The predominant link between the ‘new cases is IV drug use, says Dr. Bowering, adding anyone who engages ‘a prostitute, or who has sexual inter- course with someone who has used in-: travenous drugs, also must be careful. And he expects that more new HIV cases will continue appearing. - “Unfortunately it’s something Vd have to predict we are going to have to respond to more and more,” Dr. Bow- ering says. > A fu acu ATE. EW AMMGCS SACRO ae RE LEN SH DARREN ADD issell : Haida Fashion Show : Presented by 7:00 p.m. | Centennial Christian School Grade 12 Grad Class The Coast Inn of the West — The Spirit Bear Gallery and Boutique. Featuring the fashions of Haida Regalia Artist Joyce Bennett , ‘When: Friday, November 26, 2006 Where: Coast Inn of the West. Tickets: $10 10,00 - Refreshments: Included Available at Centennial Christian Schoot or The Spirit Bear Gallery and Boutique 7 tan coe Electric Guitar : The Terrace ———— November 22, 2006 - A9 | PETLAND TERRACE PROUD TO SPONSOR | Cd APetian |eApopteAe Petals This is “Lily”, a one and a half year old, female Lab/Collie cross. She has a super sweet personality that makes her shine!. She knows some basic tricks like “sit”, but needs someone to take the time to teach her some new ones. “Lily” can be quite timid of new people or strange noises/ places, but once she knows you and feels ‘safe she opens ri up! She doves to play with other dogs” and even . cats! “Lily” would make the perfect _ addition to any family! 06 Keith Ave Matl © toc ally Owned ¢ Pyouetly oo ee 1-800-633-7787 « 250- 635- 1600 - OPtN 7 DAYS A WEEK VIEW ANIMALS AT: www. "petfinder. com Come see these animals at the Terrace Animal Shelter Mon Thurs Gann fyi © bday Shae Saterday Garo Bp e Sanday Lane SHOPPERS DRUG MART November 27th - 30th : » 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m... COST $15. 00. ° LIMITED cUPPLY Gall Shoppers Home evteaticare ap 15-531 S17 to, - book book your appointment; ; 4634 PARK AVENUE, TERRACE aay igm F i sitet neh: DSCS500 Reg. Price: s 129.99. Dig ' ital Ca meray 6.0 Megapixel Camera complete with J. | Bonus Camera Bag & Media Storage Gq Reg. Price $244.97 NANCING.. AVAILABLE? 3 \ 7 vehrunager ie a 16 City Centre: £250) 632-5000 > ATE u SIGHT<@5 SOUND ‘Audio IRONIC Television Model KFE50200A 50” Television . ~.complete with stand Reg. Price $2749.99 CRASHER =i 988% .. The future of home. entertainment!