June 18, 2010

Kootenay Area to benefit from Trail Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Heliport Project

Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust teams up with federal, provincial, local governments and local sponsors to support regionally strategic investment.

Trail, British Columbia – Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH) serves 80,000 Central Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary residents.  Patients with severe trauma, illness and myocardial infarction frequently had to endure four hour ambulance transfers to the Kelowna Heart and Surgical Centre.  The majority of these critical care patients could be saved if definitive surgical treatment is provided within the first 60 minutes known as the “the Golden Hour” by physicians and EMT staff. Jim Thomson, Chair of the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust (SIDIT) is pleased to announce the Trust’s support of the Trail KBRH Heliport Project.  “The KBRH Heliport project provides a Transport Canada/ Nav-Canada approved heliport at KBRH which will allow door-to-door patient transfers between KBRH and the new Interior Heart and Surgical Centre in Kelowna.” said Thomson.  “SIDIT’s investment provided for the installation of a Heliport landing site at the KBRH hospital.  This creates significant positive impacts across the region through improved medical services.” SIDIT has contributed $50,000 in non-repayable funding to the project.  The program is co-supported by the City of Trail, Community Adjustment Fund, Kootenay Savings Credit Union, West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Board, Teck Metals Ltd., FortisBC, AM Ford, and Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Health Foundation as well as several small public donations.

Acting City of Trail Mayor Al Graham stated that “The City of Trail appreciates the support from SIDIT and we will continue to work in a proactive manner to improve the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital.”

The KBRH is the Regional Hospital for the West Kootenay region of southern British Columbia.  The Hospital’s heliport project is a long-term economic development project that will foster small business and medical “tourism”.  The project is anticipated to reduce the net regional outflow of seniors and thereby foster additional private healthcare services and facilities that provide sustainable, high wage employment in the region.

We are pleased to announce that the project is on budget and ahead of schedule and is now 90% complete.