Hospital statistics provided online by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) shows Kitimat is for the most part doing well in medical outcomes.
The statistics show the overall patient re-admission rate for Kitimat is 9.3 per cent, which just puts them ahead of the Northern Health Authority’s general rate of 9.5 per cent, and just about on par with British Columbia’s 9.4 per cent.
Medical patients in particular were re-admitted at a rate of 15.3 per cent, not as good as Northern Health’s 14.8 per cent trend.
Kitimat fared better in surgical patient re-admissions with just 4.3 per cent against NHA’s 7 per cent.
Kitimat also has a zero per cent obstetric (childbirth) re-admission. NHA has a 1.9 per cent readmission rate.
For young patients, those 19-years-old and younger, re-admission is 5.1 per cent, one per cent lower than NHA’s 6.1.
For hospital deaths following a major surgery, Kitimat is recorded as 1.5 per 100. Only slightly better than NHA’s overall 1.7, which matches the province’s rate as well.
The place where Kitimat really stood apart from elsehere — for better or worse — was the rate of low-risk caesarean sections. NHA’s rate is 17.5 per cent and B.C.’s is 16.3 per cent. In Kitimat the rate is 27.2 per cent.
Meanwhile a standard hospital stay costs taxpayers slightly less in Kitimat against others. The report says a standard stay in Kitimat costs $5,460. NHA’s cost is $5,808.
The report says the average length of stay in Kitimat is 5.6 days.
You can look through the results yourself online at yourhealthsystem.cihi.ca.
Kitimat's profile specifically is found here.