According to Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC), new beds for the Bracebridge hospital will not mean changes at the Huntsville site.
Yesterday, the MAHC board voted to add ten net new beds for the Bracebridge Hospital, bringing the total number of inpatient care beds up to 46.
The board considered several options, including removing 10 beds from the Huntsville hospital redevelopment plan to add to the Bracebridge site. However, the board ultimately voted to add the new beds to a redeveloped Bracebridge site without removing anything from the Huntsville site.
“We have indications that we will get the political support to drive this through,” said board chair Dave Uffelmann regarding the updated proposal.
Uffelman added that the cost of operating the ten new beds will also be incorporated into the new proposal.
The updated cost estimate for two new hospitals in Muskoka is $1.35 billion. That number is up from the original estimate of $967 million in September of 2022.
The province is expected to pay roughly $1.12 billion for the project, with the remaining $225 million coming from a “local share.”
The remainder of the plan for both sites remains largely unchanged from the model presented earlier this year, except for the total beds in Bracebridge going from 36 to 46.
The models can be found below. Further information is also available at https://www.mahc.ca/news/post/weekly-update-explaining-local-health-system-plans-in-more-detail/
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The chart shows that in the plan, all ALC and at risk of ALC patients will be in Huntsville when you read the future bed numbers in Bracebridge. When you read the future bed numbers for Huntsville there are no ALC beds.
In the Almaguin news Rod Ward says that adding ten beds in Bracebridge will add an extra 40 to 50 million to the cost of the redevelopment. Is this accurate? Almaguin has committed to pay 9.5 million to the redevelopment , almost as much as Huntsville and Bracebridge. Unless hospital beds are put in Almaguin I see no improvement in existing medical service for Almaguin. As a tax payer in Almaguin, I certainly don’t support any extra cost being paid by Almaguin. I actually don’t support paying as much as 9.5 million to support a plan developed by the same board that closed the BurksFalls hospital.