Last Tuesday, the Lakes District Hospital Replacement Project Liaison Committee met to discuss the documentation [the business plan] submission to the Ministry of Health in late August.
“This project is top priority for Northern Health,” said Michael McMillan, Northern Interior chief operating officer for Northern Health. “The replacement of this facility is critical in the continued delivery of quality services in the community.”
The liaison committee consists of representatives from the Stuart Nechako Regional Hospital District (SNRHD), local First Nations and Northern Health.
The cost of the replacement project is estimated at approximately $50 million dollars. Burns Lake is responsible for contributing 40 per cent of the 50 million.
As far as lowering the community's portion of 40 percent mayor Bernice Magee said, "We won’t know that until we receive an answer from the government [treasury board]. As you know, over the past few years, MLA Rustad, the Stuart Nechako Regional Hospital Board (SNRHB), and council for the Village of Burns Lake have aggressively lobbied government to have the capital contribution from the SNRHD decreased from the traditional amount of 40 per cent.”
The current planning process has been 100 per cent funded by the Stuart-Nechako Regional Hospital District. This is a key project phase as Northern Health and the RHD work towards approval of the project by government.
“The project is in the hands of government,” said Magee. “We are awaiting word on the project and hope to hear good news early in the New Year.”