Kootenay East Regional Hospital District’s (KERHD) John Kettle has kicked off his fifth term as chair by announcing a budget reduction of nearly one quarter.
“The budget represents a roughly 23 per cent reduction over last year, which is always good news for the citizens of the region,” said Kettle, the Area B director who also chairs the Regional District of Central Kootenay. “This board has always said that we will only tax for what we need, and this budget reflects that commitment.”
The reduction comes in large part from the repayment of debt incurred by recent expansion and upgrades to East Kootenay Regional Hospital (EKRH) in Cranbrook. The 2012-13 budget includes a $1 million reserve fund for a proposed expansion to the EKRH intensive care unit.
The $4.785 million budget for 2012-13 includes more than $800,000 for capital expenditures to facilities in the Kootenay East district. Some of the capital projects for the coming year include an obstetrics room renovation in Fernie’s Elk Valley Hospital, a new air handling unit in Golden Hospital and an expansion of the ambulatory care unit in the Cranbrook Wellness Centre. EKRH will get a covered walkway to the hospital entrance, a new Pyxis Medstation (an automated medication dispenser) and a cardiac ultrasound machine.
Kettle said this year’s hospital district tax rate will work out to about $18 per $100,000 of assessed property value. The total reduction to last year’s spending is about $1 million.
Kettle said he is pleased to have the confidence of his board and looks forward to another term as chair.
“We have a diverse board that works exceptionally well together. I am honoured to serve as chair for another term,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of the entire hospital district and to continue to strengthen our working relationship with Interior Health.”
Elkford mayor Dean McKerracher was elected as acting chair of the board earlier this month.
KERHD provides up to 40 per cent of capital funding for acute care facilities in the region for equipment and facility construction and renovation.
The hospital district area includes the RDCK, the towns of Creston and Golden and the rural areas surrounding each of those muncipalities, which sit in the Central Kootenay and Columbia Shuswap regional districts, respectively.