Dawson City residents raise new hospital concerns

Plans for a new hospital in Dawson City, Yukon, were met with fresh concerns from residents at a public meeting Monday.

The hospital, which will replace the existing nursing station, has already sparked controversy because of its location behind the local museum in Minto Park. Some residents have argued that the area should be preserved as a park.

But with the Yukon Hospital Corp. moving ahead with construction this summer, some residents say they wonder if the town of 1,325 can handle a bigger health-care facility.

"I don't think Dawson is going to grow that much in the next 10 years to what they think it is," Sharon Edmunds, a longtime resident, said at a public meeting the hospital corporation hosted in town on Monday.

"I think they're overbuilding. I think it's a huge expenditure that they need to rethink."

Among the approximately 30 residents who attended Monday's meeting, some pointed out that it is already challenging to recruit and keep enough medical professionals at the current nursing station.

"They've tried to recruit doctors for this town; it's very difficult. And so I find it rather interesting that we are getting a hospital," resident Stephen Johnson said.

Three times more staff

Hospital corporation CEO Joe MacGillvray said the new hospital will employ about 40 staff including three doctors about three times the number of employees at the nursing station.

Some at the meeting also noted that Dawson City does not have enough available housingto handle the influx ofincoming hospital staff.

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board is currently reviewing the hospital corporation's application for the Dawson City facility. The board is accepting public comments until Friday.

MacGillvray said construction of the hospital is expected to take two years. The hospital corporation has been making tweaks to the facility's design, he added.

"There's been changes to the masting of the building and changes to the orientation of the various services," MacGillvray said.

The hospital corporation has also indicated that construction will be halted during the Dawson City Music Festival, which is held at a site adjacent to the hospital location.

Festival president Jenna Roebuck said the hospital corporation has been open todiscussing longer-term concerns about the hospital existing beside the annual music event.

"They actually did make considerations for our festival when drafting these most recent plans and it's quite obvious," Roebuck said.

"That being said, of course, we have concerns about sustainability and about the feasibility of existing next to in patient care. It could potentially be a noise issue, yeah, I guess right now ... time will tell."