Listen Up! Hospital situation is getting more confusing but council is on the right track

Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler

Huntsville Council Gets It Right

During the past few weeks a lot has happened in relation to health care in Muskoka. Some of it is positive, much of it is frightening and most of it is confusing! There are too many Boards, Committees and bureaucrats with their fingers in the pie and there are too many agendas in play. The result is contradiction and a total lack of clarity, particularly when it comes to the delivery of acute care hospital services.

First, there is the report of the Muskoka and Area Health System Transformation (MAHST) council which was recently released. You may remember them. They were appointed by the North Simcoe-Muskoka Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) to recommend a plan for health care transformation in Muskoka and area. The 58-page report makes a number of recommendations. Many of them are transitional in nature and are not particularly definitive in terms of final outcomes. This is especially true in relation to the delivery of acute care hospital services.

The major recommendation of the MAHST Report is to form a single governance structure for the delivery of all health care services in Muskoka and area. It would establish a Corporation known as Muskoka and Area Health (MAH) with the goal of integrating management and service delivery for all health care services within the MAH jurisdiction. This has the potential of eliminating a considerable amount of bureaucracy by amalgamating the numerous health care agencies into a single governance, administration and financial framework. In my view, it becomes an even better idea if it also eliminates the need for the LHIN or District of Muskoka oversight.

In the context of this recommendation, it is important to note that the MAHST Report also states, “It is difficult to define the future role and requirements of acute care services until the whole health care system (in Muskoka and area) is re-designed.” It also states that, “During this important period of planning as future requirements are being clarified, the continued funding of MAHC’s current hospital sites is important.” I know of no other way to interpret this other than MAHST recommending that the two acute care hospitals remain in place for the foreseeable future, until their planning process is complete and implemented.

Now here is the contradiction. The Province of Ontario recently awarded Muskoka Algonquin Health Care (MAHC) $1 million for future hospital planning. They will “further explore and evaluate development options for a future model of hospital care.” Excuse me … but isn’t that what MAHST is doing? Why on earth do we have double funding here? And while on paper, the hospital says it will be considering all options for hospital care, in reality, unlike MAHST, they have already made up their mind and have a resolution on their books recommending a single-site hospital in Muskoka.

In my view, MAHC have dug in their heels in relation to wanting a single site hospital in Muskoka. MAHC Board Chair Evelyn Brown made that crystal clear last week when she outlined the perceived inefficiencies of a two-site model and said that it was unlikely that money would be available to upgrade the current buildings. While they will willingly accept the million dollar gift from the Province to move forward with more detailed planning, analysis and consideration of different models for hospital care, at the end of the day, I believe they will still be advocating a single-site hospital.

That, indeed, may be the final outcome but then of course the debate will be where a single-site hospital will be located and what a tug of war that will turn into! MAHC has not taken a formal position on a single-site location but certainly there are elements of the Board and Administration that would advocate for a Bracebridge site.

Recently two Huntsville residents left the MAHC Board. One reportedly was fired for not singing the company tune and the other left in frustration. One cannot help but wonder if this is a sign of a very uneven playing field?

Amid all of this confusion, and perhaps because of it, comes a very clear signal from Mayor Scott Aitchison and the Town of Huntsville. That is the good news. You may recall that more than a year ago, Huntsville Council, in a joint meeting with Bracebridge Council, passed a resolution endorsing the recommendation to have two hospital sites in Muskoka, only one of which would offer acute patient services. There was no clarity as to which community, under this plan, would lose their acute care facility. Last Monday, however, Huntsville Council removed all ambiguity by passing a motion expressing specific support for the retention of an acute care hospital in the Town of Huntsville. I take that to mean, one site or two, Huntsville keeps an acute care hospital. That is the leadership we need and through all of this confusion and the myriad of committees and agendas, that is what we must fight for.

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