Expansion for All Nations Hospital
- EFN Staff | February 01, 2015
The All Nations Healing Hospital will be building a Chronic Illness Centre in Fort Qu’Appelle this spring. The Chronic Illness Centre will benefit those suffering with a chronic illness and in need of dialysis. The plan for the Centre is to provide dialysis services for First Nation, Métis and non-First Nation patients in need of it and also have a strong prevention focus to assist clients to maintain their kidney health.
“We are excited about the opportunity to move this important initiative forward as it specifically addresses the chronic disease challenges for First Nations in Canada. With this expansion we will be in a position to support clients seeking assistance in the management of their chronic diseases and will ensure their upstream treatment and downstream healthcare needs are addressed,” said ANHH Director Gail Boehme. “Once completed the Chronic Disease Centre will be a showcase site that demonstrates the value we place on the quality of life for our rural, First Nation, and Métis populations. It will provide the healthcare system a model for efficient and effective delivery of care for chronic disease, the cost of which has been estimated as high as $80 million to Canadians.”
“This is great news for the community of Fort Qu’Appelle and surrounding communities. The Chronic Illness Centre will ensure all patients’ needs are met to the highest degree possible in an integrated manner,” said FHQTC Tribal Chairperson Edmund Bellegarde. “The goal of this new centre is to fill the gap for those rural First Nations and non-First Nations in need of dialysis. Travelling to a major centre like Regina for dialysis treatment will be done in Fort Qu’Appelle in the near future. Patients will no longer have the burden and stress of travelling long distances to receive treatment and overall this will help improve their quality of life”
It’s estimated that there are over 400 people accessing the Chronic Kidney Disease Program in the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region with approximately 32 clients in the All Nations Healing Hospital catchment area. The new Chronic Illness Centre will cost approximately $2 million dollars to build and construction will commence in the spring of 2015.
“The Chronic Illness Centre demonstrates the value we place on the quality of life of our rural and First Nations populations,” said Bellegarde. “This project will also demonstrate an efficient and effective health model which supports positive health outcomes for chronically ill people.”
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