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New triage area for Drumheller Health Centre

    Renovations at the Drumheller Health Centre’s emergency department are currently underway to bring the facilities up to the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) standard with the creation of a triage room.
    This will provide an area for patients’ needs to be assessed by a registered nurse and for their treatment to be prioritized based on the severity of their condition.
    The CTAS standard was developed by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians. Its objectives are to “more accurately define patients’ needs for timely care and to allow emergency departments to evaluate their acuity level, resource needs and performance against certain operating objectives".
    As this triage standard did not exist for rural communities when the hospital was built in 2005, the Drumheller Health Centre carried out triage at a desk inside the emergency department.
    To get in line with the CTAS standard, work was started a few months ago and was put on hold during the H1N1 pandemic to be resumed in December.
    Bev Krabsen, site manager at the Drumheller Health Centre, explained to inSide Drumheller that the admitting area will be moved to the new section and will include a glass room for triage to give more visibility. The current admitting area will become an extension of the waiting room area and thus will increase its capacity.
    Due to tight infection control, Krabsen explained renovation work in the department has been barricaded off and staff has worked hard to keep the flow going as smooth as possible.
    Since the new facilities were built, the number of patients seen in the emergency department has increased dramatically.
    Fortunately, the Drumheller Associated Physicians drop-in clinic has helped relieve some of the pressure on the emergency department.
    The clinic, located on Riverside Drive, runs every week day from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., should be the first place of call for patients who would normally see their own doctor but are unable to get an immediate appointment.
    Once the triage renovations are completed, the next project at the Health Centre is to expand the waiting room area.

Students’ encounter with stranger renews safety awareness

    Parents are asked to review safety practices with their children after an incident involving two DCHS students raised some concern.
    Two female students were returning to school on Monday, January 18 at noon when they were approached by a man asking them for their assistance to try and get his truck unlocked. The students declined, however the man asked them again for assistance and began to walk towards the youngsters. The students fled the scene and returned to school.
    No one was harmed in the incident.
    This week, students at DCHS, Greentree School and St. Anthony’s School took home letters from administration to inform parents about the event. The letter says police have been informed about the incident and statements have been taken.
    Anne Morgan, principal at Greentree School says teachers have reviewed with students basic safety practices when dealing with strangers. The letter serves as a reminder to parents to review basic safety concepts including:
• Not to walk alone.
• Do not talk to strangers.
•    Stick to known routes and avoid alleyways.
•    Under no circumstances, get into a vehicle, or try to assist others.
• If you feel threatened, run to a house for safety, or call out loudly or scream.
• If there is an incident, report it to the school administration and your parents.
    Staff Sergeant Art Hopkins told inSide Drumheller these sort of incidents are uncommon.
    “It is very rare. It is not a common occurrence to say the least. Most parents have done a good job in street-proofing their kids, but this brings renewal to the urgency,” he said. “It’s like a fire drill. The more you practice, the more you bring it to the surface, the quicker people will react to it and realize this isn’t right, this is what I should do.”

Freson IGA commits $100,000 to community facility

    Freson IGA Drumheller has had a continual presence in Drumheller supporting the community, and have jumped on in a big way to support the building of the Badlands Community Facility.
    Freson IGA has pledged $100,000 over five years to the project.
    “Drumheller and District has been an important part of the success of our company, and we want to help the Badlands Community Facility with their funding by donating $100,000,” said Doug Lovsin, former resident and Vice President Operations of Freson IGA. “We believe in investing in the communities we serve and we make this commitment on behalf of our Drumheller management and staff.”
    The Freson IGA company started in 1955 and now has 15 locations in Alberta. It employs over 1,000 throughout its various operations. Since 1990, the IGA store in Drumheller has been operated by the Freson company.
    Mr. Lovsin told The Mail, the commitment also carries a personal connection as he and wife Deanna were married in Drumheller and their five children were born here. The Lovsins left the valley in the summer of 2009.

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