What a difference a decade makes.
Ten years ago, Delta Hospital was the talk of the town, and not for the right reasons, as a threatened closure of the ER overnight, a downgrading to sub-acute care status and other cuts united the people of South Delta like no other issue before or since.
The reductions proposed and imposed by the Fraser Health Authority cast a cloud over a hospital the community had fought long and hard to establish. Groups sprung up to "save" the Ladner institution, worried what cutbacks would do to the quality of health care in these parts.
For a few years there, you were hard pressed to hear the words Delta Hospital without some type of negative connotation attached to them. It was a sad time because the place had earned an envied reputation, affectionately called the little hospital that could, but was watching all that goodwill unravel amid a wildly unpopular cost-cutting exercise.
It took a while, but thankfully the decision makers at Fraser Health came to their senses, realizing that not only are its services needed here, but Delta Hospital could also be an integral piece in the region's health care puzzle.
The ER, which didn't close overnight, has since been expanded to accommodate an ever-growing patient load. The acute care status has returned to correct a shortsighted move, while a CT scanner, digital mammography unit and more have been added.
It's only been a decade since the worst of it, but that black mark in Delta's history seems like a world away. Nowadays, the discussions centre around what services can be added to the hospital rather than what's being taken away.
The Master Concept Plan, which looks 20 years into the future, is filled with ideas on how to provide even more services at our small town hospital. Through the stellar work of the Delta Hospital Foundation, Delta Hospital Auxiliary and many other supportive organizations, I have no doubt that much of what's ambitiously included in the master plan will come to fruition.
Delta Hospital holds a special place in this community, which is still small enough to allow people to feel a real attachment to the institution and its dedicated staff members.
As a result, the setbacks it suffered a decade ago were taken personally, an assault not only on our ability to access medical care but also on a place we hold so dear.
Thankfully, that's all in the past. The future is looking bright for the little hospital that could.
