It wasn’t easy, but St. Albert resident Kerry McPhail’s elderly father has been transferred to the Sturgeon Community Hospital.
She said it took weeks of advocating on his behalf, but Alberta Health Services agreed to transfer him July 16 from the Red Deer hospital to St. Albert to be near her – his daughter and his primary support.
“For me it’s about who’s going to be there holding his hand when he needs someone holding his hand, and that’s going to be me,” she said.
Her father was living in a lodge in Castor until his health condition deteriorated about a month ago due to a stroke and other complications. He was transferred first to the hospital in Castor to be treated, then to the hospital in Red Deer.
McPhail said she was told AHS protocol is to transfer a patient back to their home, except in this case he needed a higher level of care than the lodge could provide, so he could not return.
“He doesn’t have a home to go back to,” she said. “His only address is my address in St. Albert.”
She said after weeks of lobbying AHS staff in St. Albert and in Red Deer to transfer him to the Sturgeon, including being told twice he would be transferred and then being told he would not be transferred, he was in fact moved to St. Albert on Thursday.
While her story turned out as well as could be expected under the circumstances, she said she’s concerned other families might find themselves in this situation and without persistent advocacy, they may not get that same result.
Kerry Williamson, a spokesperson for AHS, stated in an email he could not comment on any specific cases but said the health provider works with patients and families to find the appropriate option that balances individual preferences with the use of the health-system resources for the good of all Albertans.
Patients in the hospital who no longer need hospital services but can’t go home are assessed for placement in a continuing care facility.
“Wherever possible, we try to place each patient in their most preferred facility appropriate to their needs,” he said.
If that preference can’t be accommodated patients are transferred temporarily to another facility appropriate to their needs, and placed on a priority list to transfer to their preferred facility.
The temporary transfers are typically done to free up acute-care beds for those requiring hospital services and care, Williamson said.
For McPhail, she’s just happy to have him closer to home so she doesn’t need to make a three-hour trip to see him. The next challenge, however, will be finding an appropriate extended care facility in the area.
“I’m thinking finding him a place to live after will be equally challenging,” she said.
