Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/126200
feature Q & A with Dr. Nigel Murray As president and CEO of Fraser Health, Dr. Nigel Murray is head of one of Canada's largest and fastest-growing health networks, serving the more than 1.5 million people living from Burnaby to White Rock to Hope. Murray spoke with health+care about his vision for the future of health care in the Fraser Health region and Peace Arch Hospital's role in this vision Interview by J.K. Malmgren What do you feel are the biggest challenges currently facing health care in the Fraser Health region? We need to make sure we use our existing resources and capacity in the most efficient and effective way possible. We've been working very hard to make sure we address those systems where patients get stuck in unnecessary waits for services. When it is appropriate, you shouldn't be waiting for something like a CT scan or an MRI or a consult with a specialist. What role will large community hospitals like Peace Arch play in the overall delivery of health care? I don't think their role will shift. I think they'll go from strength to strength. Fraser Health will have three regional referral centres – Abbotsford, Surrey and Royal Columbian – and the community hospitals like Peace Arch will continue in their roles of providing vital secondary community-based hospital services. As a resident of Ocean Park, you know how much White Rock/ South Surrey has grown. In the midst of this growth, and with the shift to a regional model under your leadership, what is your vision for the Peace Arch Hospital campus and community? I do know. Peace Arch is going to grow. We need to have careful site master planning – that's where we look at the whole site forward into the future and say 'this is what we're going to do for this part [of the hospital], this [building] needs to be replaced by this point, we've got some spare land over here, etc. [Our vision is to] plan a site that's really functional and can be fully modernized. Emergency care is a cornerstone of health care. In that vein, how Photograph: Jerald Walliser p06-9 Cvr Stry-Dr Murray Q&A.indd 9 important do you feel it is that we expand the current Emergency Department at Peace Arch Hospital? From the very first time I went to Peace Arch Hospital five years ago, I saw the Emergency Department and said 'this has to go – this is inefficient, poorly considered and the population has outgrown it.' We need a new one. We're working really hard to do just that. We're looking at a refurbishment of just under $20 million to configure it in a way that's far more efficient, effective and modernized. fantastic. The staff at Peace Arch Hospital – the nurses, doctors and allied health professionals, and the great administrators and the Foundation – all work together so well. How will Fraser Health and the Foundation work together to bring about positive growth and advancements at Peace Arch Hospital? Peace Arch Hospital and Community Health Foundation does a fabulous job. It's totally hardwired into its community, which is an essential requirement. The Foundation has done so much for health care in the community, and it is also a major supporter [of health care] beyond the walls of the hospital. That's a very important aspect of the Foundation and we welcome it. Has your family used the Peace Arch Hospital Emergency Department? My family has used the services at Peace Arch Hospital Emergency and it's been great. My son played rugby and ended up at Peace Arch a few times with broken bits of his body. Even though the ED is poorly configured at the moment, the service has always been spring /s ummer 2013 health + care 9 13-04-12 2:09 PM