MPP SMITH CALLS PLANNED VOTE FOR 46 BEDS IN SOUTH MUSKOKA ‘WIN-WIN’ FOR SEVERN BRIDGE TO SOUTH RIVER

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

MUSKOKA — MPP Graydon Smith is supporting a recommendation going forward today for 46 acute care beds at SMMH, calling it a “win-win.”

“I welcome the decision of Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare’s (MAHC) Capital Redevelopment Committee to recommend to the board of directors an additional allocation of 10 net new beds for the future South Muskoka hospital site. This change brings the total bed allocation to 46, up from MAHC’s originally proposed 14 beds.

“This is a tremendously positive development.”

The board vote is Thursday at 4 p.m. at HDMH.

If approved SSMH would have 46 acute care beds, while Huntsville District Memorial Hospital would have 96.

Calling it a “win-win,” MPP Graydon Smith is backing today’s recommendation to the MAHC’s board calling for more than twice as many beds in Huntsville.

In a mid-afternoon release Monday, Oct. 7, Smith acknowledged: “Today’s announcement has been supported and endorsed by 45 physicians from the south Muskoka medical community.

“I want to thank them for their hard work and advocacy on behalf of their patients over the past several months.

“I also wish to acknowledge the efforts of the broader community of residents and municipally elected officials, particularly Bracebridge Mayor, Rick Maloney. Their diligence was important in helping to raise awareness about the need for more beds in South Muskoka.”

The MPP caught in the middle of a local health care crisis and who was accused by opponents of MAHC’s plan as not standing up for “two equal hospitals,” added: “Over the past many months, I have done everything I could to facilitate discussion, find common ground and, ultimately, agreement, on the need to reconsider the bed allocation at the South Muskoka hospital site. Working towards a hospital solution that benefits everyone from Severn Bridge to South River and all points in between, has been my goal from the beginning.

“I believe that today’s development and subsequent support from the medical community and municipalities from across Muskoka and Almaguin represents the “win-win” scenario we have all been seeking and working so hard to accomplish.

He said “the South Muskoka hospital site will soon be home to a new full service, acute care hospital offering state of the art and greatly enhanced diagnostic, surgical and emergency services.

“Our government’s capital investment into MAHC’s hospital redevelopments is larger on a per-capita basis than perhaps anywhere else in Canada.

“I have worked hard to secure this investment and will continue to work and advocate on behalf of every resident in the riding to ensure our communities continue to grow stronger, healthier and more prosperous.”

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