Westside-Kelowna MLA Ben Stewart says that Westbank First Nation’s plans to create a $125 million luxury hospital are interesting and the proposal is something that he thinks may be welcomed and supported by some.
Lake Okanagan Wellness Clinic would be the first-of-its-kind medical facility in Canada. The facility will focus on medical tourists and Canadians who would otherwise be forced to travel abroad to speed up their care.
WFN Chief Robert Louie said that the facility will focus on all medical services except emergency, obstetrics and psychiatric care.
“You can’t fault WFN as being entrepreneurs. . .maybe they’re going to chart new territory that’s going to open up and make things better for health care in Canada.
“I think it’s a bold move and I think the federal government needs to be thoughtful when they’re considering what the impacts are going to be.”
Stewart noted that it’s important for WFN to “seek clarity” from the federal government to ensure that the band’s medical wellness facility isn’t conflicting with the Canada Health Act.
However, it’s been suggested that the proposed private hospital will do just that.
According to Stewart, it’s tough to come to any conclusions until more information is released by WFN.
“(Health) Minister (Michael) de Jong is anxiously awaiting their proposal and more details. . .at this point it’s a conceptual idea without any of the inner workings.”
Talks of WFN’s plans for a private hospital come just over a month before the official opening of the six-storey, 360,000-square-foot patient care tower at Kelowna General Hospital.
The tower will feature new locations for several hospital departments including emergency, operating rooms, renal dialysis, psychiatric, eye care outpatient programs, additional beds and other patient care facilities.
A three-storey, 84,000-square-foot clinical support building, containing the hospital’s new laboratory facilities, will also be opened on May 27. Stewart has toured the facility and said that it is state-of-the-art.
“(Lake Okanagan Wellness Clinic) is going to be competing against what we think is a very exceptional public facility,” said Stewart.
Stewart said that there has been little feedback at his office with regards to WFN’s proposed facility.
“I think for the most part we’re just trying to navigate our way through so that we can have a definitive answer for the public. If it was to proceed, we want them to know exactly what that means in terms of health care on the Westside.
“It certainly has a lot of implications. I think that (there are) probably a lot of positive implications. On the other hand, we do need to know what it really means for the other publicly funded hospitals, which we pour billions (into).”
Chief Robert Louie has been reported as saying that he is hopeful that Johns Hopkins, or a similar reputable entity, will manage the hospital.
Gary Stephenson, director of media relations and public affairs for Johns Hopkins, confirmed that there have been talks between Johns Hopkins and Westbank First Nation.
“We’ve had some very early, very preliminary discussions with (Westbank First Nation),” said Stephenson.
“At this point it would really be premature to even speculate on what the outcome of those discussions may or may not lead to.”
Johns Hopkins Medicine International has branches in five continents, including Medcan Clinic in Toronto.
Medcan Clinic has over 30,000 clients and focuses on prevention through early detection of health risks, before symptoms occur.
Four of 17 Johns Hopkins Medicine International collaborations are set in the United Arab Emirates. None of the 17 locations deal with the WFN’s proposed “medical tourism.”
“We do have a rather robust international presence, but it has not been in the area of medical tourism,” said Stephenson.
wpaterson@kelownacapnews.com
