Location of new hospital causing conflict

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In many other Saskatchewan communities, news of a new hospital would inspire celebrations in the streets. However, the town of Fort Qu'Appelle isn't like many other communities.

Next spring, chiefs from the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council hope to turn the first sod for the new $12 million facility which is scheduled to open by Oct. 2003. At this moment, few people outside the reserves which ring the town of 2,500 are celebrating.

That was the apparent result of a public meeting April 13 at Fort Qu'Appelle's Bert Fox Composite High School gymnasium, where more than 200 attended a public meeting regarding the new facility.

While many questioned where the new facility will, in all probability, be built, many still questioned whether the tribal council, through its holding company, could provide adequate health care efficiently for the district's Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population.

As the two-hour meeting droned on, Okanese First Nations Chief Maryanne Daywalker-Pelletier grew increasingly exasperated at the mostly non-Aboriginal population's questions about everything from the location of the new facility to the status of contracts between unionized hospital workers and the holding company.

"We are talking only of ourselves here, we are not talking about tomorrow and what this new hospital will provide," she said. "There is no vision for the future of this community."

Many in the audience objected to the favored site of the new hospital, Lot 17, on Fort Qu'Appelle's south side near the Treaty 4 Governance Centre. Many said the site would be difficult to reach in the event of an emergency.

"I don't want to have the dubious distinction of being the first person to die in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, waiting for the train to pass," said one person.

Other speakers said access to the south side of town was difficult and at times dangerous due to "blind" corners.

Despite the lack of enthusiasm expressed by most at the two-hour meeting for what planners say is the best site for the new hospital, the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council's representative president said he was happy with the result after the meeting.

"The issues that came tonight are no different from what we've heard before," said Ron Crowe, who also chairs the joint capital and planning committee, which has overseen efforts leading to the new hospital. "We've responsibly shared the information that's required for us to make our decisions."

While many in the audience may not like the prime site for the new facility, the hospital board can defend that choice, he added.

"We were able to address every single concern that came from the floor," said Crowe. "We can't accommodate everyone, we can't locate the facility in the totally ideal place, but we are working with the facts that we have before us. And those facts are what we will use to make our decision."

That decision could come as soon as this month, when the holding company board meet to decide where the new hospital will be located.

Construction on the new facility is expected to begin in the spring of 2001. Under the agreement made amongst the federal and provincial governments and the FHQTC to fund the new facility, the new hospital must open its doors by Oct. 31, 2003.

The JCPC commissioned a study by a Regina architectural firm, which recommended that the new hospital should be built on Lot 17.

The site scored the highest of four sites studied for the new complex, said Fort Qu'Appelle Indian Hospital administrator Debbie Sinnett.

Amongst the areas studied were parking, traffic needs, size of the lot, stability of the land and public convenience.

One site considered is "Parcel Q," near the current Echo Lodge and the current FQIH in downtown Fort Qu'Appelle. The study said the land available would be too small and would lead to parking and noise pollution problems.

The town of Fort Qu'Appelle, along with the resort villages of Fort San and B-Say-Tah and the regional municipality of orth Qu'Appelle, have passed resolutions asking that the new hospital be built close to the site of the current FQIH. The Touchwood Qu'Appelle Health District board also favors building the facility close to the current hospital.

Meanwhile the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council passed a resolution asking the hospital be built on Fort Qu'Appelle's south side.

However, traffic surveys also show that almost all who come to the hospital arrive by vehicle, not on foot. Crowe also says the fact the hospital could be built across the railway tracks from most residents is also a concern, but for some the hospital's current location is already a concern.

"Those who are coming from the south side of town or from south of the community currently have to cross the railway tracks to come to the hospital."

After the meeting, Fort Qu'Appelle Mayor Lynn Anderson and the TQHD's chief executive officer, Royce Gill, appeared to soften a hard-line stance regarding the hospital's location.

"I hope the strong feelings of certain individuals doesn't divide the community," Gill said after the meeting. "We have to work together for the betterment of the health services."

While the town would like the new hospital to be built closer to downtown, Mayor Anderson said in his summation at the meetings' end that council will co-operate and give its support once the final location site has been selected.

No matter where the hospital will be built, the facility will stay on reserve lands. If the holding company chooses Parcel Q, the Town will agree to convert that land to reserve status, said Mayor Anderson.

Almost all the money for the new Fort Qu'Appelle Indian Hospital will come from a $12 million grant the federal government has made in previous years to the province, Crowe said.

This will make the Fort Qu'Appelle Indian Hospital unique among health care facilities in the province, where most are built, paid for in large part, and operated by Saskatchewan Health and local health districts.