Dear editor,
For me, the longer term issue of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is primarily about subsidized long-term care beds. The “hospital” issue will stop with the opening of the new hospital in September.
St. Joseph’s has 116 subsidized long-term care beds. Those patients will not be able to access MAiD over the long term. That number of subsidized beds will be expanded by another 102 if Glacier View Lodge and Providence Health Care, a Catholic based not-for-profit health services provider, form the partnership management agreement that is currently under negotiation.
VIHA currently has a request for proposals out to provide another 70 subsidized long-term care beds and two additional hospice beds. If those additional 70-long term care beds are awarded to St. Joseph’s, and the Providence/Glacier View Lodge partnership proceeds, 288 (65 per cent) of the publicly subsidized long term care beds in the Valley will not have access to in-facility MAiD.
Patients in those publicly subsidized beds who choose MAiD will have to be transferred, in the final days or hours of life, to another location such as friends or family, a motel room or to our nursing centre to receive this federally legislated health care option. Many no longer have a “home” to go as they gave that up when they entered long term care. Making people endure such a transfer in the final days or hours of their life is anything but compassionate and does not reflect well upon our local and provincial health care systems.
The citizens of the Comox Valley have legal rights to the same compassionate, legal medical options as citizens in the rest of the province and country. They should not have to be moved from their long term care or Hospice facility to access them.
I urge VIHA to locate the proposed new 70 long-term care beds on a site that is not associated with any faith based organization.
George Penfold
Comox