Midway Councillor Marguerite Rotvold reported to council at their Dec. 2 meeting that the West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital District has completed the facilities review that was mandated by the province. Theirs was the first hospital district in B.C. to file a report.
The Facilities Condition Index (FCI) assigns a number that reflects the relative condition of a facility and its systems (electrical, mechanical, plumbing, etc.) at a specific point in time.
Included in the report were data on 10 residential facilities, four acute care hospitals and 13 other facilities such as wellness centres, health centres, storage and generator buildings. Several buildings are over 50 years old including three of the four hospitals, nine of the 13 ‘other’ facilities and three of the residential facilities.
Scoring lowest in the Boundary was the facilities used by Boundary Mental Health and Addiction Services. The only facilities scoring lower in the report were the Maintenance Annex and Storage Building at the Slocan Community Health Centre.
Rotvold said this report will guide future decisions on finance and capital planning. Other factors besides the FCI are taken into account when planning such as: Is the facility providing the right service? Is the facility able to accommodate current volume and future growth? Is it adaptable to current standards? Is the facility able to meet clinical and program needs?
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Council was told by Administrator Penny Feist that the physiotherapist is requiring an additional half-day per week in order to serve all of their clients.
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Jaylene Bosovich has been hired as the temporary/casual ice arena attendant for the 2013-2014 season.
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Carbon Neutral Kootenays representative Patricia Dehnel had stopped by Midway last month to present the village with a plaque for achieving carbon neutrality for 2012. “The Village of Midway had demonstrated significant climate leadership by working to reduce corporate emissions and achieving carbon neutrality through the purchase of offsets from the Darkwoods Conservation project.
Council had considered establishing a reserve fund instead of investing in Darkwoods but according to Mayor Randy Kappes there was not enough time this year.
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The village has set their hours of operation for the village office during the coming month: they will be closed on Dec. 25-27 and Jan. 1.