Kidney cancer patient fights for free parking while recieving treatment

Cancer patients in Prince Albert can access life-saving treatments at Victoria Hospital, but only once they’ve paid for parking.

Former Prince Albert city councillor Dennis Ogrodnick was diagnosed with kidney cancer a little more than two years ago. Last year, he had surgery to remove his right kidney, adrenal gland and a tumor.

While everything went well initially, a setback in January in the form of another tumor meant that Ogrodnick had to have more aggressive chemotherapy, leaving little hope for a positive outcome.

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“I was told by the oncology team that I’m working with that the disease is going to take my life,” he said.

Ogrodnick does his chemotherapy treatments at home now, but for a while he was visiting the hospital several times a month, picking up immunotherapy and chemotherapy pills.

Although it’s less frequent now, he still goes for CT scans, paying for parking each time.

He doesn’t have an estimate for how much he’s paid over time, but said, “even if it’s five bucks, it still is wrong that I have to pay money to a private for-profit company before I get my chemo treatment.”

That wasn’t always the case, though, according to Ogrodnick.

While patients in Regina and Saskatoon have long paid for hospital parking, Ogrodnick said Moose Jaw, Yorkton, and Prince Albert all had free parking until April 2024.

After speaking with other patients, who echoed Ogrodnick’s sentiment that it’s wrong to charge them for parking at the hospital, he wants change.

“I should be fighting my cancer with all my energy, but I have to fight my government, unfortunately,” he said.

“Fair and consistent” parking requirements

Ogrodnick got in touch with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to ask why he should have to pay for parking.

Their reasoning, according to him, was that paying before receiving treatment is a “fair and consistent” policy.

But, the consistency seems to be lacking. Ogrodnick says the SHA picks “winners and losers” among hospital patients.

“I, with cancer, am a loser because they’re still honouring that long-time commitment in Prince Albert, where dialysis patients don’t pay and they shouldn’t, but they say cancer patients should,” he said, pointing out the unequal standards he’s witnessed at Victoria Hospital.

Additionally, even though it’s been more than a year since the hospital stopped offering free parking for cancer patients, Ogrodnick said it’s still available in other community’s hospitals, like Swift Current and North Battleford.

He points to North Battleford as an example, which offers free parking for both patients and visitors, Ogrodnick said, “let’s use that as the model if they want fair and consistent.”

Rural and Remote Health Critic, Jared Clarke, said patients like Ogrodnick should, “just be worried about fighting their cancer,” instead of whether their parking meters are paid. (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM)

Ogrodnick and Rural and Remote Health Critic, the NDP’s Jared Clarke, called on the provincial government to put an end to hospital parking fees for patients, regardless of where they live in Saskatchewan.

But, in an email statement, the SHA expanded on why it has these fees in the first place, writing that these payments cover the costs associated with parking facilities, including their maintenance.

By having them, it allows more resources to be directed towards front line healthcare.

These fees also take into account, “the local demand for parking spaces by all patients and families, staff and physicians,” according to the SHA.

In their response, the SHA acknowledged the province-wide differences in parking costs, writing that it’s partly because of the differences between the former regional health authorities.

SHA Parking Services implemented a new provincial parking policy in late 2023, though, and that policy included aligning parking fees for cancer patients provincially, which meant eliminating free parking in some centres.

The SHA did not provide specifics on why Prince Albert’s parking costs were changed, while those in North Battleford and Swift Current were not.

Saskatchewan vs. Canada

What Ogrodnick is asking for – allowing cancer patients to park for free while receiving treatment –isn’t a new concept in Canada.

Nova Scotia, Quebec, and British Columbia all offer free hospital parking in some capacity for patients.

It helps ease their financial burden.

A report from the Canadian Cancer Society released December last year estimated that cancer patients pay almost $33,000 in out-of-pocket cancer-related costs in their lifetime, including parking fees.