New hospital won't cure Cowichan Valley's public health issues, medical officer warns
'Typically, public health ... often gets overshadowed by acute care services,' Dr. Shannon Waters says
A Cowichan Valley health officer is reminding the public that the region still faces many challenges in public health, even with the recent announcement of a new hospital for the area.
"We could have hospital facilities, state of the art, all over the Island, but if we aren't doing things to help keep people healthy in the first place, very quickly all those facilities could be over census," Island Health medical officer Dr. Shannon Waters told Gregor Craigie, host of CBC's On the Island.
Waters recognizes that there are reasons to be excited about the new hospital, but says that acute medicine can only deal with health problems, not prevent them.
She says the Cowichan Valley currently faces a number of public health issues in areas such as early childhood development, mental wellness, children and youth in care, and the long-term effects of colonialism and racism on the Indigenous community. She says these issues can later lead to health conditions.
"Those aren't really things that all the money going into a hospital can really remedy," said Waters.
Public health overshadowed
A concern that's been raised is that the investment in the new hospital will make it more difficult to direct resources toward community and public health.
"Typically, public health ... often gets overshadowed by acute care services," said Waters.
"Bringing the importance of funding and continuing to focus on public health wellness during this time is going to be very important."
Waters says that Island Health has made progress in terms of "making health care more culturally safe for Indigenous people" by providing anti-racism training and education around the differences in cultural perspectives.
The new hospital is set to be completed by 2024.
Listen to full interview below: