B.C. pilot project sees hotel house patients not requiring acute care

Up to 53 Surrey Memorial Hospital patients will be moved to a transitional housing facility run by Fraser Health to free up hospital beds. The facility is a first in B.C., created in response to chronic overcrowding at the hospital, although the concept is common in Europe. As part of a two-year pilot project, the hotel will house patients that require an alternate level of care but can’t return home for a variety of reasons, including homelessness or waiting to be admitted to social housing or a care home. It’s estimated 15% of acute-care hospital beds across Canada are filled by patients in those categories. There’s another alternate-level-of-care facility in Hamilton, with one expected to open in Halifax next year.