There are concerns about significant changes to the services available at Muskoka’s two hospitals but according to the head of Muskoka Algonquin Health Care (MAHC), nothing is set in stone.
Cheryl Harrison, the president and CEO of MAHC, recently confirmed that MAHC has held several confidential meetings with various user groups, including service providers and clinicians, to discuss the service delivery model at Muskoka’s two hospital sites.
Some local physicians have expressed concerns that potential service changes could include anything from removing the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Bracebridge location to single-siting inpatient services and inpatient surgery.
Harrison said she is aware rumors are circulating in the community, but nothing has been decided yet and it’s too early in the process to discuss specifics.
“I can’t say any of these things are not going to happen but…I’m not going to comment right now on whether service levels will change,” she said. “This is a confidential process…and we need to respect the integrity of that process. We’re having a discussion about what we need to look at and what we need to tweak.”
Harrison said MAHC is currently in the process of meeting with six sets of user groups consisting of more than 250 participants. Once the input from those groups has been compiled and examined, Harrison says they plan to return with more concrete plans at some point in January, 2024.
The public will also be allowed to preview any changes and provide their input. While MAHC will consider the input of the user groups and the public, Harrison said the final decision is up to the MAHC board of directors.
“This is not an approval process but we do want to mitigate any concerns,” she says. “I can’t thank enough the people who have taken part so far. They’ve helped us to look at things differently. It’s a process and we’re still in the process and we continue to evolve the process.”
The news follows MAHC’s announcement on Dec. 21 that they have selected Pine Street as the future location of a new hospital in Bracebridge. Along with a new hospital to be built in Huntsville, the total cost of the two redevelopment projects is currently pegged at nearly $1 billion. The local share is expected to cost $225 million. The local share plan is one of the significant components Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare must complete for the Ministry of Health’s Stage 1.3 capital redevelopment submission, aimed for early 2024.
“It’s a lot of money and..we need to ensure that we have a system that is affordable and sustainable well into the future.”
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Thirty-five percent of the inpatient days over the last 5 years have been in South Muskoka. In my opinionThe Ministry has either been lied to already about those numbers, or the Ministry hasn’t checked them. And I believe that the Huntsville Board of Directors will need to get past the public before they do what they did to Burk’s Falls. What we need in South Muskoka is our own Board, and our own organization. I told them Huntsville would cook this up in 2005. before Amalgamation. It was a slow cooker, but here we are.
Lets get organized. Call every councillor, and Mayors of Muskoka Lakes, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge both Town and District. Call Graydon Smith. Call the Minister of Health. Let’s make a petition. We need to act now. The bulk of Board members are from Huntsville. The CEO and Chief of Staff are from Orillia and I think our District Chair has his Muskoka home in Huntsville.
Dan Waters.
This is certainly a potential loss for Bracebridge. We need to watch closely this conversation and contest any decisions that will affect our medical access in Bracebridge.
What is the point in building new hospitals for staggering amounts of money when services cannot be provided in the current hospitals. We need treatments such chemotherapy, kidney dialysis and other services. Bricks and mortar do not cure anything.