By Russell Nicholls
Here are a few points I’d like you all to consider!
The point I am making here is… these front-line workers are true professionals. They are the reputation builders for our healthcare system here in the Huntsville Hospital.
While doing my time, I did make one very important observation. The nursing staff are grossly over-worked and underpaid. I’m thinking, how can this dilemma be overcome, without spending money that the Board doesn’t have? My obvious answer was, as the saying goes, ‘level the playing field’. By that I mean reduce the salary plus bonus of the CAO and executive team by 18 per cent and transfer that amount to a fund that would be dispersed between each of our front-line workers. They are the ones who truly deserve the extra pay. Huntsville is blessed with a very fine healthcare system!
Apparently, the Hospital Board (MAHC) is totally oblivious to the fact that the Huntsville area is being inundated by Torontonians who are moving here by the droves and occupying our many new subdivisions. We need more space not less! Also … looking forward, sooner than later, there will be a need to add a wing or more to our present facility. Well, Huntsville has sufficient property adjacent to our present hospital to fulfill that need.
There seems to be a mind-set in Muskoka that it wants to be governed by the PC Blue banner. As long as there are three levels of government in Ontario, Mr. Miller, a very fine gentleman, will find he’s got some competition. The voters from South River, Sundridge, Burk’s Falls, Emsdale, Kearney, Novar, Algonquin Park and all its tourists, Dwight, Dorset, Lake of Bays and its cottagers, Baysville, Rosseau and of course all of Huntsville, represent a lot of ballots!
And …. one final thing, with our daily news media “Doppler” (not a newspaper), you’ll even have the opportunity to watch the colour in Muskoka change from blue to red, or green or whatever!
Doesn’t that sound exciting ??
Hands off our Hospital!!
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Prior to his involvement with the Portage Flyer, Russ Nicholls was a telegraph operator for the New York Central Railway in Southern Ontario. Following that, he operated his own General Insurance brokerage for several years here Huntsville. With the assistance of many very generous volunteers he spent the next 24 years getting the little Portage Flyer back into operation again in Huntsville. Russ and his wife sold their company and retired in 1992.
Ruth Lewin says
#Hands off our Hospital!
Katharine Hill says
If only the Board didn’t have their minds so stubbornly set.
Henk Rietveld says
Thanks, Russ, you are right on. We need our hospital! It was built to expand. Yes, it has issues with aging infrastructure, but, doggone it, these can easily be overcome, and at a much lesser cost than building a Taj Mahal somewhere in the boonies between here and Bracebridge. As I understand it, the hospital was built with expansion in mind. Instead, patient care areas were converted to administrative space, which added no value to patient care. Move admin off-site, bring back patient care to this space. Save big bucks, and provide better care.
Brian Tapley says
I am 100% with Henk and Russ. We need the hospital to be part of the community. Believe it or not we will all end up here for part of our lives, heck I’ve already checked it out several times and believe me, when you need to be in a hospital, being in one that is right IN your community and easily accessible is worth a lot.
I like the idea of moving all the routine administration tasks out of the hospital, into perhaps a very simple building nearby (walking distance) and thus freeing up more space for patient care.
Doug Austin says
Right On Russ and All. With the continued ‘fiddling’ on the Hospital and service level topic is it possible the process is just intended to wear us down so we accept anything… It “has the appearance” of a government agenda in the back ground and MAHC is the front to make it happen – no matter what, with a gag’ order to not talk about it.
The 2 sites, Bracebridge and Huntsville are becoming dated and in need of major renovation, but having lived in Perth with it’s sister site in Smiths Falls … They made it work with service sharing and splitting. The distance between those 2 communities and Bracebridge / Huntsville is about the same.
Don Taylor says
Thanks Russ. I too am a senior and I just spent 3 days in Huntsville hospital. My experience was exactly as you described in your letter.
I think that’s a great idea to downsize the inflated salaries upstairs and download to where the real work is done. Nurses in particular are grossly underpaid.
.
Dianne Adams says
Totally agree with all comments as do most of my friends! Past planning included expansion of our current hospital and it can be done. Too much money and potential patient space is being wasted, and it is time for this gravy train to be redirected, Russ! A hard look at downsizing administrative staff/salaries/space is long overdue and with the electronic age, their new location could be easily accessed anywhere in Huntsville. The front line staff at our hospital is the best, and deserves a lot more consideration and rewards than they are currently receiving. The MAHC Board has been a massive disappointment to all with slanted, manipulative directives issued for public discussion/input, and definitely change is needed here to better staff the board with representatives more in tune with our town. Can we not prove to the government that two fully functional hospitals are definitely needed and overseen by two boards consisting of medical personnel, each having operating facilities for any visiting specialized physician or surgical teams if the need arises?
Celia Finley says
On Monday I asked Paula Bildson at MAHC to provide me with copies of the vital operating documents that establish a legal mandate for this entity to make decisions for the people of Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst,Burks Falls. Sundridge, Magnetawan, Kearney, Armour, Ryerson, Perry, Sprucedale, Dwight, Dorset, Oxtongue Lake, Algonquin Park, and other towns and villages in Muskoka, Parry Sound, Haliburton and Nipissing. TO DATE, I have had NO RESPONSE. This leads me to conclude that MAHC may not have any mandate in law to make decisions on healthcare for these areas. If that is the case, all their planning is moot and pointless.
On the issue of building a hospital in an unserviced location, which will add tens of millions to the cost, it is clearly a non starter and will just be held up in court for years by those like me, who want a completely politically accountable board with elected reps. from all the places I have mentioned above.