HUNTSVILLE ‘STRONGLY ENDORSES’ MAHC HOSPITAL PLAN ‘IN PRINCIPLE’

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

HUNTSVILLE — As expected, last night Huntsville’s town council endorsed “strongly endorses” … “in principle” MAHC’s hospital redevelopment plan that appears to give the north Muskoka community the district edge in regional health care.

After hearing presentations from various stakeholder groups and engaging a discussion regarding Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare’s “Made-in-Muskoka Healthcare” plan council passed a motion formally supporting, “in principle,” the MAHC proposal for a new multi-site regional hospital, which has received a preliminary funding commitment from the Ontario Government.

According to a town release this morning, the discussion at the July regular council meeting was held in follow-up to MAHC’s June 26 presentation to its general committee, and MAHC’s July 2 announcement on the redevelopment next steps, including preparation for their next submission to the Ministry of Health, currently planned for November 2024.

“Huntsville’s council strongly endorses MAHC’s proposal for a new multi-site regional hospital. We believe that this plan will provide the best possible health care services, not only for Huntsville residents, but for the entire catchment area.

The release notes “key benefits” of MAHC’s plan include “outpatient surgery opportunities.”

“Given the province’s initial funding commitment, we want to ensure we don’t miss out on the opportunity for a new multi-site regional hospital in Muskoka,” says Mayor Nancy Alcock.

Huntsville District Memorial Hospital could become the central Ontario regional healthcare hub connecting east Parry Sound and south Muskoka. And Huntsville doesn’t want to miss out on that opportunity, it says.

She says: “Huntsville has been a strong voice at the table right from the beginning and will continue to be engaged. As the fall deadline for the submission approaches, it is critical to recognize all of the efforts our stakeholders have made to date to advance the future of healthcare services in our region, resulting in a proposal that goes beyond bricks and mortar and focuses on sustainable healthcare support for the entire area the hospital sites will serve.”

Deputy mayor Dan Armour added in the release: “We are currently facing challenges locally with aging hospital facilities, including difficulties recruiting healthcare professionals to staff these facilities. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here for a new multi-site regional hospital in Muskoka, which is valued at close to a billion dollars and has a preliminary funding commitment from the province. We do not want to miss this chancel. “We look forward to working together with all stakeholders as discussions and planning for the next submission to the Ministry of Health take place, so that we can take steps towards seeing the proposed new hospital sites become a reality.”

According to the town, MAHC’s proposal will allow each site to specialize in different services, focusing staff on patient groups with like diagnoses and providing enhanced patient care services and programs, as well as assisting in recruitment for specialty staff and physicians.

It says the two expanded new facilities will have an overall increase of 34 hospital beds and the overall square footage will almost double, increasing by over 250,000 sq. ft. Enhanced medical services across the region include expanding emergency departments to include a fast track for minor conditions, improved mental health rooms, and streamlined ambulance offload processes. Diagnostic services are set to broaden beyond hospital settings, with plans to include MRI capabilities. Furthermore, the proposal seeks to integrate indigenous healing practices into the healthcare framework and incorporate virtual care solutions.

It goes on to say “key benefits” include:

  • Assist in recruitment for specialty staff and physicians
  • Expanded emergency departments – fast track for minor conditions, improved mental health rooms, easier ambulance offload
  • Outpatient surgery opportunities
  • Expanded list of available procedures
  • Diagnostics – opportunities to expand beyond hospital locations
  • MRI
  • Opportunity to integrate indigenous healing practices
  • Virtual care integrated
  • Overall total of 157 beds – an increase of 34 beds overall

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