BC Cancer Center's business plan to bring radiation therapy to the Nanaimo region has been approved, but the hospital district has not yet made a decision on funding for the renovation of the existing cancer facility at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) .
The British Columbia Government announced on April 16 that it has approved the previously announced business plan for NRGH's BC Cancer Center. A three-story oncology outpatient treatment facility with radiotherapy equipment, computerized topography (CT) simulator, PET/CT diagnostic scanner, 12 exam rooms, 4 consultation rooms, and space for a medical physicist and radiation therapist. unit is installed. Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2028.
The Nanaimo Regional Hospital District (NRHD) typically pays 40 per cent of capital costs, with the province paying 60 per cent, according to Elizabeth Hughes, senior manager of strategy and intergovernmental services for the Nanaimo Regional District. The understanding is that the will provide funding for the entire BC Cancer Center. The Ministry of Health told the Sounder that funding sources are being finalized. The budget for the project is $289 million.
Meanwhile, a separate proposal from Island Health to NRHD to cover the equivalent of $11.8 million in renovations to NRGH's existing cancer center remains up in the air. The state approved a project to add a new one-story addition to the outpatient clinic building, which includes a new Community Oncology Network clinic and pharmacy expansion, but the board decided to postpone discussion of the renovations until the future at its April 9 meeting. Postponed the. The meeting will be held in conjunction with other previously canceled projects, including the Nanaimo Wellness and Recovery Center, the Parksville Treatment Center and the Urgent and Primary Care Center. These three projects are currently included in his 2024 NRHD budget, but the cancer center upgrades are not included.
The hospital district tax levy results in $18.4 million in reserves in 2023 and is projected to rise to $28.9 million in 2024, excluding cancer center renovations and halting projects. Assuming that, the expected cumulative reserves at year-end would be $68.7 million. contained.
In response to questions from the NRHD board and staff, Island Health said in March that the cancer center renovations were “to support the community's increasing need for the systemic (chemo) therapies offered by Island Health.” It is necessary and complementary to radiation therapy.” Brought to you by BC Cancer. ”
An estimated 1,000 people will need radiation therapy this year in the Central Vancouver Island Health Service Region, which runs south of Duncan and north of Parksville and includes Gabriola Island, and that number will rise to 1,600 by the time the center opens. It is said that it will increase. Ministry. Based on the patient's postal code, he started 25 radiotherapy treatments for patients residing on Gabriola Island in 2023.
Rachel Stein Wotten, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Saunder
