The Editor,
Wow! The news from the latest update meeting on the master concept plan being developed for Eagle Ridge Hospital through the partnership of Fraser Health Authority and the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation is, to say the least, good - perhaps even great.
For example, steps are to begin as early as this fall to achieve - within existing operating budgets and with little new capital investment - some of the desired expansion of patient care at ERH and community health services within the Tri-Cities.
Additionally, the planning process indicates that, in as few as five years, ERH's emergency room services can become what the foundation and others have been seeking to achieve.
And get this: Meeting the plan's priorities in the first five years of the 20-year master concept is expected to need a capital investment of $15 million to $20 milllion. Compare that with the $500 million recently announced as the requirement to make Royal Columbian Hospital what it wants to be.
Look for more ERH plan details this fall.
Jim Peacock, Port Moody
