The Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation has redefined its mission within the community and is poised to focus more of its activities to address community health care problems outside the hospital walls.
The Foundation recently re-branded itself as the Saanich Peninsula Hospital and Healthcare Foundation, a move that signals the group’s recognition of the fact that health care delivery requires assistance in a wide variety of venues on the Peninsula.
“A prime example of that kind of support happened the other weekend when we hosted the hospital bed race on Beacon Ave. in Sidney. That event was in support of the Youth Clinic at Peninsula Medical,” said Foundation Executive Director, Karen Morgan.
Morgan explained that a lot has changed since 1985 when a group of visionary community members created the Saanich Peninsula Hospital Foundation to respond to the rising cost of hospital equipment and facilities. Those costs were was creating challenges for the community hospital and the Foundation’s work helped to overcome the situation by raising money for much needed equipment.
Today, she said the Saanich Peninsula Hospital, due to incredible donor support, is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.
Unfortunately the community is now seeing significant gaps in health care on the peninsula; many of which are created or exacerbated by the current shortage of family physicians.
“It’s apparent there’s a problem when patients have to wait for hours to be seen in the Emergency Room,” said Morgan.
Because the Saanich Peninsula Hospital employs a rural medical model, the physicians in the community also staff the hospital. As a result, explained Morgan, physician shortages in the community put the survival of the hospital at risk.
Those shortages also affect the community on a personal level as many residents find themselves without a family doctor or, if they have a doctor, find that they have limited choices in getting an appointment with that doctor.
The Foundation said that the reimagined organization wants to enable access to health care services throughout the Peninsula and Southern Gulf Islands communities for every resident.
“We want to help in the efforts to recruit new doctors to family practice and hospital service and we also hope to help some other community-based health-care organizations within the community,” said Morgan.
The focus, she added, is to help create the infrastructure to make health care more accessible for families in the community.
As one example, Morgan pointed to the need to create adult daycare options for an aging population.
“This is the sort of thing where we can really make a difference,” she said.
Morgan is quick to point out that the change in the Foundation’s name and the expansion of its mandate does not, in any way, signal an end to the Foundation’s support of the Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
“Absolutely we will continue to support the hospital. There’s no intention at all abandon our work there and we’ll continue to support them in every way possible,” she explained.
“We’re not moving away from the hospital…not at all. We’re using the strength we’ve built over 20 years to help solve problems in the community as well.”
