Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

MUSKOKA — The divisive issue of how Muskoka’s hospitals will operate in a decade takes centre stage starting tonight in Dwight.

After 41 doctors in south Muskoka overwhelmingly came out on the weekend — in strongly-worded letter criticizing a ‘Made-in-Muskoka’ “model of care” — Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare is preparing for a public outcry at the first of several community meetings to officially announce plans for South Muskoka Memorial Hospital and Huntsville District Muskoka.

In a rare joint statement, the doctors wrote in part: “We had expected that our hospital redevelopment plan would respond by expanding our ability to provide care to those who need medical attention. Instead, the new model proposed for Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare has reduced inpatient capacity at South Muskoka by almost 70%. Rather than expanding, our hospital is contracting.

“This plan transitions the vast majority of inpatient and obstetrical care to the Huntsville site, leaving South Muskoka unable to provide adequate care for our population…”

SOUTH MUSKOKA PETITION

Already a petition to the province has emerged, led by former MPP Dan Waters, calling for the Made-in-Muskoka plan to disregarded, that the MAHC board be dissolved and that the two south Muskoka and Huntsville hospital boards be returned with more local representation.

Waters says the plan creates “unequal” hospitals, which he says MPP Graydon Smith and Premier Doug Ford promised would be the case.

The former Liberal and NDP member of Provincial Parliament says in the petition SMMH will become a “temporary Emergency Rest Stop.”

MAHC is to submit its plan to the Ministry of Health this spring as the next stage of it multi-year application process.

MAHC blames soaring new construction cost projections of up to $1.6 billion for major changes they made in service delivery and location since last August, which they admit will significantly impact residents and patients.

With details leaking out following confidential staff meetings last week, community critics quickly waded in online and on the street saying it could determine growth negatively and positively, respectively, in the Bracebridge and Huntsville.

The hospitals could be open for patients in 2032 after two years of tenders starting in 2027 and three years of construction.

The week ahead could go a long way in determining how that plays out.

‘RUMOUR MILL ALIVE, WELL’

MAHC CEO and president Cheryl Harrison said in an embargoed media briefing Friday morning that they know the “rumour mill is alive and well.”

Board chair Maureen Miller said changes came after cost projection costs rose “50 to 60 per cent,” said, noting the Ministry of Health told them it wouldn’t support more than a $1-billion build for the two hospitals.

And that they “never” reconsidered the one hospital concept again.

She also said there was intolerance by the “local share” fundraising committee to try to raise more than $225 million from the community. So far they’ve received $225 million in pledged from local governments and from the two hospital foundations.

Local mayors and Smith received a similar update right before the media.

‘NOT JUST ABOUT TWO HOSPITALS

IN TWO COMMUNITIES’: HARRISON

Harrison said it’s “not just about two new hospitals in two communities,” but healthcare overall across Muskoka and the surrounding area.

This afternoon in an attempt to get ahead of the moving story, a MAHC news release outlined what they intend to tell the expected large of people tonight, the rest of the week and in Zoom sessions.

They said they’ll explain that with “ongoing healthcare worker shortages since the pandemic, operational challenges with small volume programs and services, and a prescribed budget for building the two new hospitals,” they plan to “to enhance the quality of local healthcare and bring new services to the area and beyond the walls of the hospitals.”

They say the “new innovative model has resulted from months of in-depth and inclusive planning efforts with team members including staff, physicians and midwives, volunteers, patients and family members and key healthcare partners to explore ways to create a sustainable, affordable and quality-focused approach.”

MAHC calls it a “creative and more efficient solution to build two specialized hospitals that are complementary to each other rather than identical.

“Each hospital will include full-service Emergency Departments and inpatient beds, but with less duplication of services in the region.”

And that “enhanced community outreach will provide new services closer to home in outlying communities like Almaguin Highlands and Gravenhurst through expanded partnerships with community health agencies including Family Health Teams and Health Hubs.”

“We recognize this is proposing a different structure from the status quo in Muskoka for the past 50-plus years,” says Harrison. “We are in a very changed environment since the pandemic with a chronic shortage in healthcare workers that causes repeated service disruptions where we have to single site services when we can’t ensure safe medical coverage.

“Staggering post-pandemic inflation has driven a 50% increase in healthcare construction costs, and this means that collectively we cannot afford to build our facilities exactly how they are today.

“Solving these challenges for decades to come has taken creative thinking to find a way to provide the same services, but differently and more efficiently,” she said.

“Our goal is to develop a healthcare delivery model that is realistic, affordable, and ensures the long-term sustainability of our hospitals and high quality care. Our focus has been on the needs of the populations that we serve. This means to keep services here, we need to think differently from how things have been done in the past.”

IN BRACEBRIDGE …

If you can’t get to the meetings, MAHC says the new model “concentrates day surgeries and other outpatient surgical procedures, as well most outpatient exams such as non-urgent imaging, within a leading edge Ambulatory & Surgical Centre on a new location in Bracebridge.

“The 24-7 Emergency Department activity would be supported by full diagnostics and medical specialist support, 14 inpatient beds in single patient rooms for short-stay admissions, and four Intensive Care Unit beds. The model envisions surgical expansion, including orthopedic joint replacements in the future, closer to home.”

IN HUNTSVILLE …

“Inpatient care including obstetrical labour and delivery is concentrated in Huntsville with 139 beds for acute care for longer stays, the addition of specialized rehabilitation care to help patients recover from stroke locally, and new reactivation care to ensure patients leaving hospital are equipped to transition home successfully.

“As well, a higher level Intensive Care Unit growing to 10 beds will keep more advanced, critical care patients in Muskoka.

“Just like in Bracebridge, the 24-7 Emergency Department also has access to surgery and full diagnostics. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) services for the entire region are also included.”

MAHC says it will offer “a robust and safe transportation system would be developed between the two sites to ensure seamless patient care, while also supporting the travel needs of families and staff.”

Adds Harrison this afternoon: “We believe that this new approach will meet the needs of the populations that we serve, and that it will be more sustainable and affordable than our current approach. It will improve provider experience and ensure our team members can work to the top of their scope and skill set, and allows us to explore new service areas that would not have been possible otherwise.

“We are keen to listen and work together to develop the best model for the future that meets the needs of our communities, leverages a significant opportunity to build new hospitals, and gives the best care locally for future generations.”

MAHC urges community members to attend the “community chats” in person and virtually January 29 to February 7 for further details.

Or go to www.mahc.ca/communitychats for more and to register to attend a virtual chat via Zoom.

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