PROVINCE PONIES UP MILLIONS MORE FOR HOSPITALS
PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — Local hospitals long under constant financial threat — and with increased COVID-19 pressures — received increased support from the province.
MPP Norman Miller said in a release Thursday that he is “happy to see the long-standing funding inequity for small and medium sized hospitals addressed.”
Locally Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare’s base funding has increased by $4,880,500, with $3,189,000 of that becoming annualized.
And West Parry Sound Health Centre’s base funding has increased by $2,676,500, with $1,599,000 of that becoming annualized.
There will be additional funding available to hospitals to help cover the expenses related to COVID-19.
“This announcement is great news for our communities in Muskoka and area, and we appreciate the ongoing advocacy by Mr. Miller for our multi-site hospital,” said MAHC CEO Natalie Bubela.
“This additional funding helps to ease MAHC’s operating pressures, and we will continue to work with the North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN, Ministry of Health and provincial government for incremental funding to close our operating gap.”
This year hospitals have been hit with mounting expenses related to COVID-19 and the loss of some of their non-government funding streams, such as parking and cafeteria sales.
Today’s release says that on March 25 the province released a fiscal update, Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19. In it, they say they recognized the historic funding shortfalls for small- and medium-sized hospitals and was meant to “ensure continued financial stability” by making the $68 million in top-up funding from 2019/20 part of the base funding for these hospitals going forward.
The money ensures that all publicly-funded hospitals will receive a minimum of a 1% increase.
“This is good news for our medium-sized hospitals in Parry Sound-Muskoka,” said Miller. “In the past our hospitals had to request these additional funds each year, and were never guaranteed a successful outcome. This made it difficult for our hospitals to plan for future expenses. I have long been advocating for a fix to the funding inequities faced by our medium-sized hospitals and I am happy to see our government has addressed this issue.”
This announcement is part of $935 million more in new investments for Ontario’s hospitals this year identified in Ontario’s Action Plan. Of that funding, $594 million will be directed to support hospitals to meet current and future demands for regular services. This represents approximately a 3% overall increase in funding to the hospital sector in Ontario.
Donald Sanderson, WPSHC CEO, added: “We appreciate the significant investments being made toward the provision of health care in our community, especially in these difficult and uncertain times.
“The arrival of COVID-19 has added significant pressure to our financial challenges. Until a vaccine is developed, COVID-19 will continue to fundamentally change the way in which we provide care. This will no doubt contribute to the current fiscal and operational uncertainty facing West Parry Sound Health Centre. We are thankful to our MPP Norm Miller for his ongoing advocacy in support of sustainable funding for our health centre and community.”
