EDITORIAL – The irony of the premiers meeting as Clearwater hospital closes again
(Image: Interior Health)
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
THIRTEEN PREMIERS wrapped up two days of meetings yesterday. As expected, health care was the big agenda item.
Coincidentally, as the premiers met in Victoria at the Empress Hotel, the Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater was in the midst of yet another temporary closure due to staffing shortages.
So far this year, the hospital has been closed 15 per cent of the time. Whenever there’s a closure, residents face the prospect of having to drive an hour and a half to Kamloops for care.
The Dr. Helmcken situation is but one example of the need for action to fix health care.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
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