Another six British Columbians have died overnight from complications related to the COVID-19 virus, bringing the province s death toll from the pandemic to 1,240, according to Ministry of Health . . .
‘It’s Wrong’: BC Hospice Executives Decry Looming Closure of Facility
A Vancouver-area hospice is closing due to its refusal to offer medically assisted death, and its hospice society vice-president says the process of how things came to this point “feels very violating.”
The Delta Hospice Society (DHS) had a 35-year lease and a service agreement with the Fraser Health Authority to operate a 10-bed hospice. Its lease and service agreement were revoked because of the facility’s refusal to offer medical assistance in dying (MAiD) on-site, a requirement by the health authority.
As a result, the Irene Thomas Hospice in Ladner, B.C. will close, and the society will lose the facility it raised $8.5 million to build in 2008. The building sits on land owned by the health authority, which has given the DHS until the end of March to vacate the hospice.
Frustrations mount over vaccine roll out
Rural counties in Western North Carolina are feeling the frustrations with the national COVID-19 roll out plan.
County health departments are overworked and understaffed as they attempt to follow the changing protocols and requirements associated with COVID testing and vaccinations.
“It’s been a disaster, the vaccine (rollout) has it’s not our fault but we have to deal with it,” said Macon County Commissioner Ronnie Beale during a Jan. 12 meeting. “If the federal government and the state don’t function, we still have to function at the county level.”
Macon commissioners said they were receiving complaints from constituents who have been trying to make a vaccination appointment through the health department. When they call, they either get a busy signal or are put through to voicemail.
VANCOUVER Patients at a hospice in Delta, B.C. will have their final days and weeks disrupted by a move to other facilities because the Delta Hospice Society Board refuses to work with Fraser Health on a transition plan as the health authority takes over operations at the facility. The Irene Thomas Hospice in Ladner has 10 beds and provides end of life care for patients with terminal illnesses. In February 2020, Fraser Health served the board with one year’s notice to end its service agreement and withdraw funding after the board refused to offer Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), the end of life option that has been legal in Canada since 2016.
Petersburg assembly OKs COVID testing agreements, extensions
Posted by Joe Viechnicki | Dec 22, 2020
Testing and screening at the James A. Johnson Airport could continue through next June. (Joe Viechnicki/KFSK)
Petersburg’s borough assembly Monday approved an agreement for voluntary COVID-19 testing for employees at the borough’s Mountain View Manor assisted living facility. They also voted to extend other agreements for airport testing and quarantine or isolation space for individuals without a permanent home.
After voting down mandatory testing for manor workers earlier in the month, assembly member Jeff Meucci wanted to see a vote on a voluntary testing program.