A decision appears to be imminent regarding the expansion of a new two-storey building for oncology and renal departments at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook.
Dan Goughnour, a corporate official with Interior Health, said he expects news in the "very near future" regarding the proposed project, as the business plan has been sitting with the Ministry of Health since late last year.
Goughnour's update came during a presentation to the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District board on Friday, Nov. 8.
The new building will house expanded oncology and renal departments, however, whether it will also include radiation therapy services — which local elected officials have been lobbying the Ministry of Health for — remains unknown.
"The ball is in their court right now," said David Wilks, the chair of the regional hospital board and the Mayor of Sparwood, during an interview on Friday, Nov. 8.
"This will be approved, this oncology/renal unit. It will be at some point in time. It's gone down the road far enough that it will be approved. Now, do they have the wherewithal to include radiation with it? My bet — they don't have the guts to do it."
Kelowna — an eight-hour drive away from the East Kootenay — is the closest urban centre that offers radiation therapy, as access for services at health care facilities in Alberta remains limited.
Wilks said the southeast corner of B.C. has an opportunity to be a "shining star" for the provincial government if radiation therapy is included into the new building.
"It would make perfect sense," said Wilks. "They recognize that they have a challenge throughout the province. They're oversubscribed in Kelowna, Vancouver — you name it, they're oversubscribed. We are building something here and they have an opportunity to do it right. Let's see if they want to do it right."
Wilks pointed to the recent provincial election results, noting that the BC NDP are operating on a very thin majority and that the legislature makeup has changed. However, he reiterated that the opportunity for radiation therapy services remains, adding that the project has a $15 million boost through a donation from Elk Valley Resources (formerly Teck Coal).
"The stage is set for oncology and renal here," Wilks said. "..Anyone should understand that a $15 million donation is not chump change and that they should be at least taking a serious look at it and recognize that we in the southeast corner deserve this. We've worked hard, we are in the middle of nowhere."
According to data provided by BC Cancer earlier this year, there were 263 East Kootenay patients who required radiation therapy treatment from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024, with 94 per cent of those patients accessing radiation therapy services in Kelowna.
That's a modest increase from the 2022/23 fiscal year, which saw 250 patients from the East Kootenay seeking radiation therapy services in B.C.
The province has committed to building four new BC Cancer centres in Kamloops, Nanaimo, Burnaby and Surrey as part of its 10-year cancer plan. The province
