While Yukon Hospital Corp. chair Craig Tuton took a Field of Dreams approach to justifying construction of two new hospitals in the territory – pricetag: $50 million – many attending the corporation's annual general meeting at Whitehorse General Hospital last night weren't buying into the scheme.

"To be able to provide up-to-date, brand new facilities will attract quality (medical) staff to work here,” Tuton said when asked where feasibility studies were to back up the board's claims that Watson Lake and Dawson City needed new hospitals.

"And these facilities aren't just being built to attract health workers but to entice workers of all types to those communities.”

Indeed, the talking cornfield that enticed Kevin Costner's character, farmer Ray Kinsella, to plow over half his crop to construct a baseball diamond with those fateful whispers, "if you build it, they will come”, appears to have spoken to Tuton and the hospital board as well.

But it's not peanuts and crackerjacks the Yukon will get, but a new $28-million, 12-bed replacement hospital in Watson Lake, and a brand new $22-million, 12-bed hospital in Dawson City.

Former Liberal Health minister Don Roberts was the first to challenge the hospital corporation board's rationale for the projects.

"Most jurisdiction in Canada have downsized. They've closed hospitals, they've centralized hospitals, they've made what they call quality care hospitals, like (Whitehorse General Hospital),” said an indignant Roberts. "What we're doing is we're going the opposite way. Where's the justification for that?

"Why aren't we putting our limited resources into a first-class, state-of-the-art hospital where 90 per cent of the population lives? I'm sure Yukoners want to hear how you can justify these long-term expenses.”

In April of 2009, the hospital corporation took over administration duties for the Watson Lake hospital, and the justification Roberts sought can be pieced together from responses offered by Tuton and hospital corporation CEO Joe MacGillivray.

Apparently, the takeover, which occurred on April 1, 2009, was based on an understanding that the corporation would get a new hospital in Watson Lake for its efforts.

Here's Tuton on the issue:

"In the case of Watson Lake, the existing hospital facility needed to be replaced. So we had to look at it in the long term if the corporation was going to take on the roles and responsibilities of the Watson Lake hospital, whether it would be able to do that using the existing facility.”

Shortly thereafter, MacGillivray chimes in on the same issue and completes the circle:

"We had been requested to take on planning, design and operation of these facilities ... Watson Lake hospital is very aged, and not a facility we were keen on operating a hospital from in the long term.”

At a time when the cost of delivering health care in the territory is rapidly increasing, a trend the Yukon government's 2008 health care review warns will continue, the Yukon Hospital Corporation is borrowing money to build the two new facilities that when finished, will ultimately ramp up costs of health care delivery in both communities.

In 2009, it cost $2.2 million to run Watson Lake's cottage hospital, and the bill for operating Dawson's health centre that same year was $1.3 million.

In previous interviews, Tuton told the Star that the estimated operating budgets for the new hospitals would be between $4 million and $4.5 million. At last evening's meeting, that figure has since been revised to "about $4 million per facility.”

Liz Hanson, the leader of the Yukon New Democrats was also on hand to query Tuton and MacGillivray on the corporation's new direction.

"What I'm unclear about is why the rush on April 1, 2009 to decide to build new hospitals as opposed to demonstrating, as a board, how your decision links to, perhaps the Yukon Health Care Review that was completed November 2008,” Hanson said.

Tuton prefaced his answer by suggesting Hanson was confused by the timeline of events.

For anyone who's read 2008's Yukon Health Care Review, however, confusion may be due to the review's dire warnings regarding health care spending and the corporation's apparent disregard of these warnings.

The 2008 review predicts the territory's then-$201.5-million annual health budget could double by 2018 if nothing is done to rein in costs.

At the time, Dave Hrycan, the deputy finance minister, called that spending growth unsustainable.

When Premier Dennis Fentie and his Yukon Party were elected to form the government in 2002, delivering health care in the territory cost $131 million per year. Less than a decade later, that figure has ballooned 74 per cent, with 2009's health care expenditure approaching $230 million.

In addition to the new hospitals in Watson Lake and Dawson City, construction on a $17-million residence for visiting medical staff beside Whitehorse General Hospital is nearly completed.

Last evening, Tuton told hospital corporation AGM attendees that Whitehorse General Hospital will require $50 million worth of upgrades in the coming years.

But to see if the hospital corporation's $67-million gambit to attract skilled workers will pay off, Yukoners – whether in support of the plan or not – must assume the debt and the ongoing increased expense of health care delivery that comes with it.