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Hospital future unclear

Church will not renew contract

Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

Chesterfield Inlet (Feb 12/01) - The future of St. Therese Hospital is in limbo.

The Churchill/Hudson Bay Diocese has served notice that it will not renew its contract to operate the hospital when it expires on April 1.

There has been no word yet from the health ministry on what the Nunavut government plans to do.

The hospital was run for many years by the Grey Nuns of Manitoba.

The first Grey Nuns arrived in Chester in 1954 but the last two left the hamlet in September 1999.

Bishop Reynald Rouleau says it's time for the Nunavut Government to take over the hospital.

"I don't have the energy any more to oversee the operation and it's difficult to find the resources you need to properly run the facility.

Rouleau said the church will not immediately withdraw its services on April 1 if the government indicates it will take over the facility.

"We won't put the residents out the street. If the government requires a few months for a transition period, we will find a way to accommodate that."

Nurse manager Dianne Raniowski said the hospital cares for eight residents and has up to 37 full- and part-time employees on its payroll during any given week.

She said the hospital represents roughly $360,000 in annual salaries to Chester.

"The hospital residents are patients who can no longer be cared for in the home," said Raniowski.

"Six little Sisters from the Diocese did this for a long time.

"Last year we started training local people as cooks and caregivers to take over as permanent, full-time staff."

Raniowski said the hospital purchases about $50,000 in groceries annually and pays about $1,600 a month to the hamlet for its water bill and other services.

Attempts to contact health minister Ed Picco were unsuccessful at deadline.