Horne disputes claims of High River bed closures

Health Minister Fred Horne addresses the media from Lethbridge about AHS executive bonuses.

Alberta’s Health Minister Fred Horne says that all reports of care beds being closed at the High River Hospital simply aren’t true.

On Tuesday, the United Nurses’ Association said it had learned that the hospital was being permanently scaled back, despite the government’s promise to make it fully operational again.

Horne, after hearing about the discovery, said that the beds weren’t being closed, but they were merely moving to another facility in town.

He says that that decision was made a long time ago.

“It’s a 105 bed facility and 25 of the 75 long term care beds currently at the hospital will be moved over to the new facility so there are no beds being closed. In fact, when the new facility opens, there will be 80 additional beds on top of what there is today.”

The High River Hospital was damaged in the flooding in June, but officials expect it to be up and running by the end of September.