Yukon community hospital beds at 50 per cent occupancy, WGH often full

Yukon's smaller hospitals are serving their communities well, says the Yukon Hospital Corporation.

Statistics show that in the first 11 months of 2015, the newhospitals in Dawson City and Watson Lake were operating at roughly 50 per centcapacity.

"They're being utilized from the perspective of the emergency room," said Jason Bilsky,CEO of the Yukon Hospital Corporation."They are utilized from the perspective of being able to keep patients in their community, repatriate them sooner or hold them for observation."

He said other services like lab and imaging are alsobeing well used.

Whitehorse hospital beds sometimes full

Beds at the Whitehorse General Hospital average86 per cent occupancy, however roughly20per cent of the time the facility has no available beds.

The hospitalis expanding, but the larger facility will not free up more beds.

"It is not intended to relieve the in-patient pressures that we have here," said Bilsky.

The new hospital wing will contain a larger emergency department and space for related services.

Bilsky saysthe corporationsupports the Yukon government's plan to create more continuing care beds in the the territory.