Mother calls for NICU to be set up at Chilliwack hospital

A Chilliwack mother has started a petition to build a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Chilliwack General Hospital after a traumatic experience when her son was born.

Kaitlyn Forester says last March, her son was born with a severe dairy allergy. She says she was in and out of hospitals during the first month of her son’s life before being transferred to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

“They [Chilliwack General Hospital] didn’t have the staff and they didn’t have the equipment to help my son,” said Forester. “We were transferred in an ambulance all the way out to Vancouver, and on our way out there, there was a Chilliwack nurse that came with us, and she had told me that my son, not even a month old, was about to go into surgery.”

Forester says her mind was eased after finding out her son was not having surgery and instead would be treated with antibiotics. However, the incident left her shaken.

“It’s not right. We shouldn’t have to travel so far away from all of our family and our help that we have….our support systems.”

“The Children’s Hospital was amazing, the staff there were amazing and we received such good care for him, but the fact is that we had to leave our hometown and travel such a far distance just to get him the help that he needed.”

Forester says she was inspired to start the petition after her brother and his wife went through a similar situation.

The petition claims Chilliwack is expanding at a rapid pace, but the healthcare capacity has not been able to keep up. The petition calls on the Fraser Health Authority and B.C. government to establish a NICU facility at Chilliwack General Hospital.

Forester says this would benefit families and prevent newborns from being separated because of treatment.

Currently, the Fraser Health Authority has five NICUs, which are in Abbotsford, Burnaby, Langley, New Westminster, and Surrey.