Vitalité seeks to renovate or replace Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital, submits plan to province

Vitalité Health Network is looking to either renovate or replace the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital, which is nearly 60 years old.

The regional health authority has submitted a plan to the province outlining options for the future of the aging hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, about 60 kilometres north of Moncton.

Board chair Tom Soucy announced the plan during Tuesday's board meeting. It was prepared with the support of an external firm and input from experts and community members, including the Kent Regional Service Commission, he said.

"The Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital was built in the '60s. Like many hospitals in our network, it requires growing maintenance," he said.

"The plan includes two different scenarios, allowing us to make sure that we have a long-term vision for the Stella-Maris-de Kent Hospital," Soucy said, without elaborating.

In an interview after the meeting, assistant CEO Patrick Parent declined to divulge any specifics before discussions with the provincial government.

But he said the plan was based on projected patient volumes over the next 20 years and the types of services that will be required.

Essentially it proposes "renovation to the existing facility and, wherever the need exists, expansion for certain services," said Parent.

"Another option is, is it more cost effective over time to look at a newer facility?"

Commitment to maintain a hospital 

The Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital has undergone modernization projects since it opened in 1966, including the Kent County Extra‑Mural Program moving in in 1993, and a new emergency department opening in 2005, according to Vitalité's website.

Last January, Vitalité announced acute care beds at the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital would temporarily be converted to palliative and long-term care beds, due to a shortage of medical resources, and that patients from the emergency department or the community who required hospital admission would be transferred to the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton.

The measure was expected to last "a few months," but a year later, the acute care beds have not been restored, and staffing challenges continue.

Asked whether area residents can feel assured that they will continue to have a hospital in their community with at least the same level of services and hours, Parent replied, "That question came on several occasions, and that commitment was made" by president and CEO Dr. France Desrosiers.

"There is a long-term commitment to the hospital, and the community."

Parent could not estimate how long it might be before any decisions are made or changes occur, as it's now in the government's hands, but did stress that it's very early in the process.

'Very important' hospital

The Department of Health received the report from Vitalité on Wednesday, said spokesperson Sean Hatchard.

"As the operation lead of the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital, Vitalité is expected to propose improvements to its health-care facilities," he said in an emailed statement.

"The department is looking forward to reviewing the materials it has received."

Vitalité plans to present the report to elected officials on Feb. 6.

Benoît Bourque, the Liberal MLA for Beausoleil-Grand-Bouctouche-Kent, said he plans to attend to learn more.

He suspects the 20-bed hospital will require a significant investment with either option, given its aging infrastructure and "limited space," and is pleased the planning process has begun.

The hospital, which serves more than 30,000 people — francophones, anglophones and members of three First Nation communities — is a priority to his constituents, he said, especially those who are aging and have limited financial resources.

"For them to travel to Moncton or the Miramichi is more of a challenge and they have more health-care issues, you know, more chronic illnesses because of the age."

In addition, Kent County is a "major transportation corridor" between the Moncton area and the northern part of the province, mainly through Route 11, where motor vehicle collisions often occur, said Bourque.

"So a hospital is very, very important, that has not only a properly functioning emergency room, but also acute care, which is currently closed. And I'm hoping sooner than later they will reopen."

Paul Lang, CEO of the Kent Regional Service Commission, thanked Vitalité at Tuesday's board meeting for the report "that shows the needs of the community that will be using this essential infrastructure" and urged action.

"We have to get together as a community and mobilize our regional politicians to make sure that the … projects that were identified in the [report] could be put in place as quickly as possible because, as you know, the hospital is over 50 years old and requires a lot of love and attention," he said in French.