Flu delays closure of Memorial unit

Although Health Sciences North's functional assessment and outcome (FAO) unit was due to close Jan. 27, there's still 12 patients receiving care there.

The FAO unit, located at the former Memorial Hospital, houses alternate level of care (ALC) patients, or those who no longer require acute care, but cannot find placement in a long-term care facility or other community care.

Up until the last few months, it was home to 30 patients.

Health Sciences North announced last fall the FAO unit would be wound down and closed because it cost too much to operate and because the space it occupies is needed for a seniors' day program.

Hospital spokesperson Loretta Bostrom said any ALC patients remaining at Memorial by the end of January will be transferred to the hospital's main site — the Ramsey Lake Health Centre.

Beyond the ALC patients at the FAO unit, there's also currently 74 ALC patients at the Ramsey Lake Health Centre.

The North East Community Care Access Centre has been having a difficult time finding long-term care beds for the ALC patients from the FAO unit because of the flu outbreaks at local long-term care facilities.

“At the end of the day, everyone will have a bed,” Bostrom said. “Everyone will be cared for.”