Listen Up! Huntsville’s mayor is missing from the hospital planning committee (MAHST)

Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler

Bah Humbug!

I’m in a bit of a Bah Humbug! mood. Oh, I will get in the Christmas spirit. That’s important to me. But right now, I am looking at the past year in Huntsville and I am finding little to get excited about. Of course, there are good news stories. We have good people here who do good things. That’s not what I am talking about.

What I am talking about is apathy. Sometimes I wonder if we are worn down to the point where we just don’t give a damn. Take our hospital for example. Two years ago, we were frothing at the mouth to save our hospital as a fully acute care site. Our Mayor led the fight. “We will accept nothing less,” he said. Two years later, he is singing a different tune. He says under all circumstances we must keep an Emergency Department in Huntsville. That is a huge difference and, sadly, few people seem to care, or they have just given up.

In fairness, much has changed since Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare announced their preference for a single-site hospital in Muskoka. Huntsville Council appointed a Hospital Retention Committee to protect the interests of our community. There were good people on this committee and they worked hard. But at the end of the day, they concluded that there should not be two acute care hospitals in Muskoka. Their recommendation was for “two campuses of care” in Muskoka. Site A would be a fully acute care centre. Site B would focus on ambulatory and long term care. Huntsville Council unanimously approved this recommendation and so began the slippery slope. We were no longer fighting for acute care facilities in both Huntsville and Bracebridge.

That however, was not the end of the process and we now have a new committee. It is taking a whole new approach to the provision of health care services in Muskoka and is designing a process that could become a model well beyond our borders. It’s called the Muskoka and Area Health System Transformation Council (MAHST), a bureaucratic name to be sure, and here, in part, is what it has to say about itself.

“MAHST is an ambitious project to redesign the local health care system. MAHST is tasked with designing a new model for health and human service delivery to meet both the current and future needs of Muskoka and surrounding areas. This will be a community-led solution where care is delivered effectively, equitably and seamlessly – at the right time and in the right place. ……..The MAHST Council will oversee a grass roots design process that engages health, social services and community stakeholders across the continuum of care. This is a unique opportunity to generate a person-centered model for local care and a plan to implement those changes – designed by people who live in Muskoka, experience the system and best understand local needs.”

This is indeed a unique approach and recognizes the reality of shrinking health care dollars and the need to be more efficient in meeting our health care and social services needs. Mayor Scott Aitchison deserves credit for his role in bringing the process this far. However, here is the rub.

MAHST has a huge mandate and their recommendations could change the landscape in Muskoka, not just in terms of health care and social services, but also in terms of our economic well being. The reality is that there will not likely be two acute care hospitals in Muskoka and while equality is part of the Council’s mandate, how that actually works out is in their hands alone.

It is significant therefore to note that the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer of Bracebridge are on the MAHST Council and the Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer of Huntsville are not. What kind of message does that send? As well, the District Chair, whose Council is dominated by South Muskoka representatives, is on the Council as is Natalie Bubela CEO of Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare, who has made no secret about where she stands. To be sure, Huntsville has some excellent representatives on the MAHST Council, including Sven Miglin, Rob Alexander and Dr. David Mathies, but they do not have the same mandate or influence to protect the interests of Huntsville, as the Mayor and CEO of Bracebridge have to protect theirs. Nor do they have a piece of property in their back pocket, as does Bracebridge, to offer as a new site for heath care delivery.

Okay, I am a cynic and perhaps even a little paranoid but I do stand for Huntsville. I cannot help but think that the balance of power on this crucial Council is slanted toward South Muskoka. It is all the more reason to have a very strong voice for our neck of the woods. Our Mayor should be on that Council. He is elected to protect our interests. Frankly, I don’t see the leadership and, worse, I am not sure anyone cares.

Bah Humbug. Time for an egg nog.

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