The Ste. Anne Hospital is set to receive some of the annual funding recently announced by the province.

Manitoba Health has allocated 27.9 million dollars for various health care projects. Of that, the Ste. Anne Hospital is set to receive roughly $75,000. Southern Health’s Vice President of Finance Ken Klassen says that money will go towards upgrading their fire alarm panel.

Klassen explains that the panel is the central base where all of the fire alarms and smoke detectors in the building are hooked up to. He says it is a fairly complex system and the one currently within the Ste. Anne Hospital has been obsolete for a while.

“There has been a significant investment by Manitoba Health on fire system upgrades, that has been identified as a priority in the province.” For some facilities, these upgrades may come in the form of sprinklers or standby power generators, for Ste. Anne, it means a new panel.

Klassen acknowledges that updating a fire alarm system may sound like a basic maintenance project, but says the government has good reason for emphasizing its importance.

“There have been some instances in other provinces, particularly in seniors’ housing, where there have been some unfortunate events causing injury and even loss of life,” offers Klassen, “so I think that is part of the reason for the focus on fire safety in Manitoba.”

Meanwhile, Bethesda Regional Health Care Centre and Rest Haven Personal Care Home will also see some funding to deal with their ongoing maintenance.