During a Facebook Live town hall on Aug. 12, the former Wildrose leader was asked how she would avoid “lockdowns” if “Alberta’s hospitals start to be overwhelmed” by another wave of COVID-19. Smith said the province needs to figure out how to free up acute care beds occupied by seniors destined for long-term care. “It’s something like 60 percent of the beds are filled with people waiting for long-term placement,” Smith said. “And I have to understand that there has to be a more comfortable place for them to go. I was thinking that a hotel might be a better setting.” Smith continued her response by stating that there is excess capacity in some continuing care facilities that could also be used by seniors in hospital beds. NDP health critic David Shepherd focused his criticism of Smith on her hotel proposal during an afternoon media briefing outside a hotel in west Edmonton. “Long-term care beds require a registered nurse to be on hand 24 hours a day with all the equipment and supplies they might need to help someone with significant medical challenges,” Shepherd said. “The idea that a specialized medical care facility can be replaced with a hotel is absurd. It is not a solution. . . . Hotel and motel staff are not health care workers.” Shepherd said Smith is the UCP’s most likely candidate to become the next prime minister and accused her of having a history of promoting “pay-as-you-go health care”. Instead of hotels, the MLA for Edmonton-City Center said the government should improve the system by creating more long-term care facilities in Alberta. CTV News Edmonton has reached out to Danielle Smith’s campaign for comment on this story. Meanwhile, the government on Monday announced $11.3 million in additional funding for palliative and end-of-life care initiatives. Shepherd applauded that announcement, but said the UCP needs to do more to address Alberta’s “health care crisis.”
