File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

MERRITT ER

‘It can help us keep the doors open’; Merritt mayor hopes new funding will stabilize ER

Oct 20, 2023 | 5:30 PM

MERRITT, B.C. — Closed again for 24 hours, residents in Merritt will be without emergency services until Saturday (Oct. 21) morning. The closure comes mere days after the province announced millions of dollars of new funding for the Nicola Valley Hospital and two others.

“It’s a start and I think we have to realize this was just announced and now we have to see what the bones of the plan are. The announcement is great, any one of the three communities are going to be very happy to have any funding to help with this. But until we see the bones of the plan, I’m sure it will work out for the better,” said Merritt Mayor Mike Goetz.

The funding is slated to help incentivize doctors and nurses to practice in smaller communities like Merritt.

“The whole idea is to entice people to come to work in your community. Grand Forks Hospital is incentivized and we are trying to get Merritt in the same situation. You know, money talks — and that is the way it works and unfortunately we are in that situation. I don’t want to get into a bidding war but to keep the hospital open, we will do what we have to do,” stated Goetz.

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B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix admitted this is only a first step, but an important one.

“We have worked with our doctors in communities like Salmon Arm, Oliver, and of course Merritt, to develop an alternative payment program that focuses on filling the shifts and providing the work no matter really how busy it is. And so this will help support doctors in the hospital,” said Dix.

The minister went on to state that the biggest problem in Merritt recently, however, has not been the doctors.

“In Merritt, it’s important to note that the most important thing leading to closures has been nurses not doctors. Although recently in the last few weeks it has been doctors. We need to address both and we are taking specific measures to address both doctors and nurses. The most important one is that we have more doctors and nurses. And so far this year, 5,221 more nurses in B.C.,” added Dix.

While Goetz does not expect the funding to immediately solve his community’s issues — as evidenced by the current closure — he remains hopeful it is a step in the right direction.

‘In the next, I would imagine, 30 days, we will get a clearer picture of how this is all going to go. Will I tell you that our hospital may not be closed again in the next 30 days? I can’t. It was closed (Tuesday). This is the way it goes, but hopefully as we move forward with this funding and we know exactly where it goes and how it is used, it can help us keep the doors open,” said Goetz.