THURSDAY
S I N C E
APRIL 11, 2013
1 8 9 5 Trail native in hunt for Cyclone Taylor
Vol. 118, Issue 57
105
$
Page 10
INCLUDING G.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
KBRH gets good grade from report
PUMP HOUSE PROGRESSING
Interior Health CEO questions CBC survey validity BY ART HARRISON Times Staff
ART HARRISON PHOTO
April showers fail slow down construction of the new Montrose pumping station at Beaver Creek, which is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
CBT pie gets sliced up in a variety of ways Columbia Basin Trust hands out over $300,000 to municipalities BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
With more than $300,000 in Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) grant money to divvy up, local municipalities have their work cut out for them. Salmo (combined with Area G), took care of matters on Monday, when, for a sixth year, “Dot Night” was hosted in its community centre. That night, 393 voters from both areas, attended the event to listen to presentations from 32 organizations, who pitched project ideas aimed to enhance the community, At the door, with proof of residency, each person was allotted five dots, with each dot being worth $32. After listening to the scope of propos-
als, the outcome was up to the residents, whom assigned one or more dots to which ever project they felt deserving of the funds. More than $62,000 was assigned to 26 organizations. Salmo and Area Seniors Supportive Housing Society received the most funds, $5,925; followed by the Salmo and District Health Authority with $4,999, which will be used to replace its thrift shop flooring. In a trial project, Fruitvale, Montrose and Area A combined forces on Wednesday, when a six-member committee assembled at the Montrose hall to listen to seven presenters; each making a pitch for funding that could benefit the three combined jurisdictions. “This year, we are trying something different,” said Larry Gray, Regional District chair and committee member. Gray explained that in the past, there have been various organizations who
apply for funding to more than one municipality, which created problems with time and coordination of meetings. “So this year, in one evening, those groups had the opportunity to make only one presentation.” This year, the combined area of Fruitvale, Montrose and Area A have just over $90,000 to divide; Rossland, $46,000; Trail, $101,853; Warfield and Area B, just over $30,000 each. Gray said that each municipality has its own process for dividing up the CBT grant money, but the final authority is the regional district. At the end of April, the East End Services will meet and green-light the decisions that each municipality has made. The meetings of project applicants for what is officially called the CBT Community Initiatives and Affected Areas Programs, are open to the public. Visit rdkb.com for the schedule.
A new online rating system launched Wednesday comparing hospitals across Canada has given the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail a solid B grade. In a first for Canada, CBC television's, “The Fifth Estate” has created the Rate My Hospital website that uses an assessment process for rating the performance of similarly sized hospitals across the country using a combination of online surveys, nationally collected data, and a panel of health care experts. The new site also allows patients of the respective hospital to do their own rating of their experience if they've recently received services in one of the rated health care facilities. While a “B” rating may not seem like a bad mark to many of us, Interior Health CEO, Dr. Robert Halpenny, was less than enthusiastic about the ranking and the website. In press release Wednesday, Halpenny expressed his agreement with the ideals of measuring health care data but less so about the process the CBC has used. “Interior Health recognizes and supports the importance of transparency and accountability and we welcome third party reviews that make information accessible to our patients and also identify areas where we can make improvements,” Halpenny stated. “However, along with other health authorities and jurisdictions in Canada, I have a number of concerns with subjective surveys and the CBC Rate My Hospital project. “The data used to calculate these rankings came from a variety of sources which were reviewed, prioritized, and ranked by a panel of experts selected by the CBC. I would note that all six IH facilities received a B or average rating according to CBC. “I am concerned that these rankings do not include many of the clinical indicators we look at in measuring and improving the quality of care we provide in Interior Health.” Halpenny was not alone among Canadian hospital's CEO's in not approving of the process in that Interior Health was not among the 132 out of 600 contacted who agreed to participate in the part of the survey targeted towards them. Anyone interested in learning more on Rate My Hospital and how the various hospitals across the country measured up can go to www. cbc.ca/news/health/features/ratemyhospital.
community champs
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Graduating and post-secondary students: We know there are unsung heroes in our schools. We want to reward them. Tell us about the work you do to make our world a better place and you could WIN $2000 towards your education. Apply online or at your school today!
may 15, 2013
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