It’s official!
Free Wi-Fi is now available at Victoria General Hospital and the Royal Jubilee Hospital for both patients and visitors.
Victoria Buzz broke the news last week that six Vancouver Island Hospitals could be getting free Wi-Fi but Island Health could not confirm at the time as they worked to finalize the details.
The free internet access is thanks to the funding from local hospital auxiliaries.
The service can be accessed by searching “IslandHealthGuest” at either hospital, and can
support basic internet browsing (but not high definition streaming).
There was no mention on when Saanich Peninsula Hospital would offer the free service.
A Local Idea
In April 2018, Sarah Gibson, a Lake Cowichan Resident, petitioned Island Health, asking to introduce free public Wi-Fi to patients.
As Island Health explains, “Gibson, who lives with Cystic Fibrosis, found the financial burden of using her data plan while she’s in the hospital to stay connected with family, friends and her CF support group [to be] an added stress.”
“This is great news! I would like to thank all of the foundations and auxiliaries who stepped up to fund this service,” said Gibson. “While staying connected through Wi-Fi may not be a medical service, I know from experience, that having those connections outside the hospital can really help in healing and recovery.”
A total of five Vancouver Island hospitals have introduced public Wi-Fi this month, with the support of their local foundations or auxiliaries; Cowichan District Hospital, West Coast General Hospital and Lady Minto Hospital are the latest hospitals to offer this service.
Nanaimo Regional General Hospital’s public Wi-Fi launched in June, and the North Island Hospital campuses in Campbell River and Comox included Wi-Fi when they opened in 2017.
