(( I will preface this post by stating that I am not speaking in an official capacity for my employer, Providence Health Care)))
If you’ve paid attention to the news over the last little while you’ll be familiar with the fact that St. Paul’s Hospital does not offer Medical Assistance in Dying on the premisses due to the fact that Providence Health Care is a Christian faith based organization.
Bobbie, you’re an atheist, how can you work there?
The same way all the other employees that follow different religions and faiths do.
Due to media attention that was generated over the transfer of end-of-life patients to other non-Catholic facilities to obtain their M.A.i.D. procedure, the Ministry of Health was being called upon to take action.
And action they did, they sat down with Providence and came to an agreement.
M.A.i.D. will still not be provided at St. Paul’s Hospital.
However, M.A.i.D. will be provided in a brand new facility being built directly adjacent to the hospital.
So far what I know is that the new building will not physically touch the Providence buildings, but will be close enough that a small walkway will connect the new facility to the Providence 2 building.
The new building will belong to and will be operated by Vancouver Coastal Health.
Patients at St. Paul’s who are requesting medical assistance in dying will be “transferred” from the care of St. Paul’s to the care of the VCH M.A.i.D. program.
I know more or less the exact location of this new building.
I know that it is supposed to be in full operation by the summer of 2024.
The oddly interesting thing about where this facility is going is that it is being connected to the Providence II building where the Providence IV building was supposed to connect. Due to the government in the ’80s and ’90s failing to provide the required funding, only half of the modern St. Paul’s Providence buildings were built.
Providence 1 was built, the funding fell through for Providence 2 so Providence 2 was built in two stages. Parking levels P2 to 1st floor. 2nd floor to 10th floor came a year or two later. However Providence 3 and Providence 4 were never built.
Will I obtain my M.A.i.D. procedure there?
Nope.
First, I believe that the M.A.i.D. facility will only be available for patients on site.
Second, this would terrorize my co-workers.
I once joked with the chief pathologist on site that I wanted my autopsy done on site……. the replied “Don’t even joke about that. I wouldn’t let my staff do an autopsy on someone they knew”.
With the exception of one electrician, no one at work knows what I’ve gone through and no one except for that same electrician knows that I wish to avail myself to M.A.i.D.
As I’ve said, I have two options.
One option is to arrange to donate my organs, in which case my procedure will occur in a hospital like Vancouver General where my corpse can be taken to an operating room immediately after my death so that my organs can be harvested.
The other option that I have, and this is the one that I am favouring, is to have my M.A.i.D. procedure take place in a funeral home.
This would be the easiest for me to set up. A one stop shop if you will.
Put to sleep
Store my corpse for the required 48 hours.
Cremate my corpse.
As of today it is 14 weeks and 5 days until I see my doctor to make my formal application for M.A.i.D.
I don’t seem my two assessments as being completed before anytime before June or July of 2024.
After that comes the 90 day cooling down period.
Then comes the prescription.
The prescription for M.A.i.D. is apparently valid for 1 year.
I don’t think I’d want to linger for the full year.
I’ll definitely want to take some time off work, not too long, maybe about 6 months.
And then I’d like to undergo my procedure.
In the meantime the new M.A.i.D. facility will be in operation.
Beeshive 