The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Questions of patient wellbeing are being raised following word that the elderly residents of Flin Flon's personal care homes must receive their prescription drugs from The Pas. Tom Heine, chair of the local Concerned Citizens Health Care Committee, brought the matter to the attention of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. 'I think that the Chamber of Commerce should make representation to the RHA,' Heine said, 'to say, 'Look, guys, why are our dollars going out of town when first of all it provides inferior service to the residents of the Personal Care Home and Northern Lights Manor and the (local) economic benefits aren't there?'' The care homes had been receiving prescription drugs from the local Extra Foods under a contract between the NRHA and the store. When the store closed last October, the NRHA continued to purchase those drugs from Extra Foods, this time from the outlet in The Pas, a 90-minute drive to the southeast. Disconcerting Heine said this is causing disconcerting and needless delays between the time a prescription is issued and when it is delivered to the patient. 'When I get a prescription, I go to the pharmacy and get it filled,' he said. 'You know, (it takes) an hour. And the same sort of service should be delivered to people who live here.' See 'The...' on pg. 6 Continued from pg. 1 But Helga Bryant, CEO of the NRHA, said the delays for care home residents are at present slight. 'As with any changes, there were some challenges initially and we worked through those and the delays are minimal now,' she said. The purchasing of drugs from The Pas is not necessarily a long-term arrangement. Bryant said the NRHA's latest RFP (Request for Proposal) process for care home medications is complete and vendor selection is now underway. Addressing the chamber during their executive meeting at the Friendship Centre Restaurant, Heine pushed for using a local private pharmacy, of which there are three, or even the pharmacy within the Flin Flon General Hospital. 'Those are fairly major dollars that are flowing out of our community,' he said. Asked whether a local pharmacy would be chosen to supply the medication, Bryant said there will be several factors to consider. 'The awarding of a contract is not just based on lower bid but on a number of considerations, including cost, clinical support, meeting of standards, etcetera,' she said. As for the hospital pharmacy, Bryant said it has two vacancies and there 'was no capacity' to supply the care homes. Karen MacKinnon, the chamber's city council representative, told the chamber she discussed this issue with the NRHA a couple of months ago. Offers She said she was informed the contract would be coming up for tender and that local pharmacies would be able to bid. 'I relayed...very strongly that it should be a local pharmacy,' MacKinnon said. Bryant said the Flin Flon Extra Foods store, in accordance with the contract, notified the NRHA of its closure three months in advance. 'The RFP process, vendor selection and transition to a new supplier and, given the detail and diligence required, is a six-month process,' she said. 'In the interim, Extra Foods The Pas were best able to meet our needs as they already provide services for long-term care in The Pas.' While Heine made his statements to the chamber, the organization was not prepared for his remarks and opted to remain neutral for the time being. President Kory Eastman said the best next step would be to ask Bryant to discuss the matter with the chamber.
