Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) representatives spoke about their made-in-Muskoka healthcare plan for the future to a packed Active Living Centre in Huntsville on Thursday night.
Those in attendance heard that ideally, there would be fully equipped, full-service hospitals providing all services at not only two but three or four communities in Muskoka, but that is beyond the possible, said Chief of Staff Dr. Khaled Abdel-Razek.
“With the amount of funding that we have, and with each of the challenges that we will be facing, keeping all services, adding beds, adding services in an integrated model, as described, will be the best way forward,” he assured.
MAHC CEO Cheryl Harrison said the model will not require an increase in the community share of $225 million and is realistic compared to building two full-service hospitals about 30 minutes apart.
MAHC, which manages both the Bracebridge and Huntsville hospitals, has been making the rounds explaining the proposed healthcare model for the future, which involves building two new hospitals and distributing services between the two.
Building the two new hospitals will cost just under a billion dollars. One will be built in Bracebridge and one in Huntsville. Both will have emergency rooms and acute care beds. The Bracebridge site will focus on ambulatory, short-term care services while Huntsville will focus on inpatient complex care services. The interdependency of both of the sites and the ability to concentrate patient volumes for certain services in one rather than two locations, will concentrate volumes and help bring more medical staff and services to the community, noted MAHC representatives. Services like, for example, orthopedic joint replacement, expanded orthopedic trauma care, and gynecology.
“As I said, we’re not losing anything, and the status quo I think is more a risk for us in terms of losing things because if you’re doing exactly the same at both sites, and it’s watered down, there is more of a risk that we start losing those services because you can’t find staff, you can’t be efficient…,” said Harrison.
Change is hard and change management will be key, she added. “Designing a new model like this that’s focused on centres of excellence around clinical services, plus being system-based (hospice, nursing homes, and other care providers outside of hospital) even more than what we are, really does mean that we’re going to have to do things differently and change management is going to be dramatic. Change is hard,” she added.
Both hospitals will have a fully-equipped, 27-bed Emergency Department with diagnostic equipment and staff. The Bracebridge ER currently has 11 beds and Huntsville currently has 17 ER beds.
Huntsville
- The Huntsville site has received its rehab designation which will complement its regional stroke centre designation.
- It will have beds that will support general surgery patients.
- It will have 10 Intensive Care Unit level 3 beds (This is a new service. People had to be transferred out of the region in the past).
- Obstetrics is being concentrated in Huntsville. There are currently about 300 births per year across the two sites. About 2/3 in Huntsville and 1/3 in Bracebridge. Staffing two sites has become an issue. Concentrating this low-volume service in one site will help with staffing. Complicated cases go to Orillia. Bracebridge ER will be able to deliver a baby during an emergency but the designated site will be Huntsville.
- Huntsville will have 139 beds.
Bracebridge
- Single-siting ambulatory care/day surgeries in Bracebridge will mean higher volumes and could leverage expanded services.
- Scheduled diagnostic and specialty tests, mammography, bone density and nuclear medicine will be focused at the Bracebridge site.
- Scheduled clinic visits for things like chemotherapy and seniors’ care will be done at the Bracebridge site.
- Bracebridge will have 18 beds.
- It will have four level 2 acute care beds. Higher acuity and longer required stays will be sent to Huntsville.
- Currently, between the two sites, MAHC conducts about 7,500 day-surgery procedures per year. That is expected to increase to 9,700 based on growth and access to new specialists by the time the hospitals are built.
“These two hospitals are going to be the sum of a bigger healthcare system,” said Harrison.
She also noted that the province does not fund hospital equipment, the money comes from the hospital foundations and auxiliaries, which means more can be done by diversifying service and capital infrastructure offered in two sites.
The plan will be tweaked and continue moving through the planning stages and Harrison said a tender for the hospital builds is expected to be issued in 2027, awarded in 2029, shovels in the ground in 2029, and occupation would be taking place in 2032.
Those in attendance also heard that the MRI is expected to be online in about 18 months.
Harrison said some of the details of the plan are still being worked out with community partners and that includes transportation.
Community acceptance
In terms of the community, MAHC will be challenged to work hard to convince segments of the community, particularly in South Muskoka, that the proposed model will not favour one community over the other.
“People are thinking Bracebridge is going to be a small hospital. Based on the planning we have today, it’s going to be growing by 30 per cent. It’s going to be going from 133,000 square feet to 175,000 square feet because of the services that are going to be there,” said Vice President, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer Alasdair Smith.
Former Huntsville Mayor Karin Terziano cut to the chase and asked whether one site would draw more, much sought-after family physicians to the community than the other.
Dr. Caroline Correia said while all care providers are trying to wrap their heads around the new model and figure out how it is going to impact them personally and as a community, the model provides more opportunities for the diverse interests of healthcare providers such as family physicians.
She said there will be opportunities for physicians who prefer to work exclusively in the community and have very little interest in hospital affiliation. The opposite will also be true for physicians who want to work in a hospital with higher volumes which will be possible through the concentration of services in one site. “They may be interested in a way that they’re not now because it’s not enough volume for them and they’re not interested in being at a lower volume centre,” said Correia. “The reality is we’re going to need a lot more providers. I think there’s going to be room for a lot of people and I don’t think it’ll be as clear cut as, ‘it’ll be good to work here and not to work here.’ I think the hardest position to be in is those who are already working in these communities, in the way that we’re used to working in these communities, and to see that shift.”
97-year-old Bob Hutcheson tells people not to miss this opportunity
Long-time Huntsville resident Bob Hutcheson said to applause, “Dare we risk this? We were back in the 28th place and somehow we got moved to the second place and the last time we got a hospital was about 46 years ago, before that we had a Red Cross hospital … and so if we have this opportunity, as a 97-year-old guy, I’m saying, ‘hey we should grab it now because we won’t have another chance…”
Check out upcoming community chats taking place across the region, both in person and virtually, from January 29 to February 7, 2024. Please visit www.mahc.ca/communitychats for more information and to register to attend a virtual chat via Zoom.
Related
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Introducing the made-in-Muskoka healthcare system of the future: MAHC
South Muskoka physicians say new healthcare model “not acceptable”
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I would agree with the comments from Jerri Jay. One good example is at this very hospital meeting there are very few people wearing masks in this close environment, this at a time when covid and the flu is still active in our surroundings. People if they are able to, need to take a better look and action into better health practices for themselves.
We seem to be pretty good in abusing our bodies with poor diets, lack of excercise, lack of sleep etc etc.
Grant It l realize some of us aren’t able to, but the vast majority can.
How about people begin to take responsibility for their own health care and stop relying on the government sponsored disease management system?
Re: North-south hospital divide
Here is what I see.
Muskoka can’t afford more than a BILLION DOLLARS for new hospitals.
The healthcare model is changing to a DISPERSED MODEL.
Muskoka wants TWO EQUAL HOSPITALS in Bracebridge and Huntsville.
Current hospitals are filled with NON-CRITICAL ALC PATIENTS.
Solution is THREE TRANSITIONAL-CARE facilities — one each for Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, and Huntsville — to take non-critical care patients.
KEEP the two hospitals we have, make them MORE EFFICIENT by having transitional care available to empty critical care beds.
We would have a plan that would keep us all happy and cost us a lot less than a billion dollars.
Let us take this opportunity to show LEADERSHIP to both Ontario and the rest of Canada in developing a new and better DISPERSED MODEL of health care.
Alan Clark
Bracebridge
Well I wish everyone the best of luck getting a new hospital. But I live in Durham region and vacation in the Huntsville area. Here in Durham we were told 3 years ago that a new hospital would be coming to the Ajax Pickering area? They even named the site!! Still haven’t seen a shovel in the ground, or anything that remotely looks like a project being started. So good luck with your hospital, but I wouldn’t hold my breath!!!
WOW! First of all, I was not at the meeting. But .. it sure appears Huntsville gets the full Costoc ‘service’ treatment and Bracebridge gets the Tim Horton a la carte menu! All of the issues with lots more to come, could have been solved with a ONE hospital solution delivering ALL services! Now .. one needing hospital care would need to play ‘doctor’ and ‘diagnose’ what hopital they need to go to get service … but .. it sure appears they will need a menu now! I have read the letter from the doctors and it sure appears know one is listening or gives a hoot! They will get over it! But.. don’t forget doctors talk and will advise any other doctor who is ‘thinking’ of coming to the area to forget it! A huge amount of time has been wasted since 2012 and now look .. you MAY have 2 hospitals by 2032! IMO .. knowing folks in the hospital construction project mgmt crowd it get take up to 10 years when the first shelve hits the ground🏥 to build a full service hospital ! And we up north think we can build by 2032 …2 new hospitals? The service infrastructure, non medical services will be duplicated, and staff for support and maintenance will be doubled! But it appears money is of no concern and not factor of consideration now .. but it will sure be when rubber hits the road for construction pricing, labor and material! But damn the torpedoes .. straight ahead … most of us will not get to use the facilities anyway! Hate to say it ..but must .. a ONE hospital decision in 2012 & all of the issues now would have disappeared! We all might even of had had a opportunity to use THE New hospital. It will be interesting to see how the Bracebridge folks react to this service disaster!
On Friday morning I attended the MAHC 2-hour Virtual chat on the latest hospital proposal.
I was very impressed by the professional staff and Board members. In my opinion, the Team has worked very hard and done an outstanding job in solving a very complex puzzle, and all my questions were answered to my satisfaction.
There are few things that people are as passionate about as our health care system. Communication is key and that takes time, but the Team is working an exhausting schedule to get that done quickly. They all deserve our thanks. I believe the Muskoka community will be on board as soon as everyone gets a chance to hear and think about the details.
It would be informative to the public to see some facts and figures as to how the new hospital model was arrived at. I say hospital model because South Muskoka won’t have a hospital in the boards plan. Are there more people closer to the Huntsville site? Is it cheaper to build in Huntsville? The South Muskoka doctors present a real reason that the new model isn’t good. It looks like the board never consulted with these doctors.
Did the board consider the exact reverse of the new model? Just switch the two facility models and see if the next meeting in Huntsville goes smoothly.
Norm Raynor
Agree with Susan Godfrey.
Also the young folks have other things on their minds…not hospitals .
With all due respect to Mr. Hutcheson and op-ed commenter Mr. Markle, I hear a lot of cheerleading and rah-rahing without any recognition of the facts. The 40 doctors who expressed strongly-worded concerns should not be disregarded. I heard Dr. Shannon Lees on CBC OntarioMorning and she made a very good point about rural medicine..the geography does not work out. Our local catchment area is not best served by the latest modelling. I feel like we have been subjected to a “bait and switch” and I am not cheering this Made in Muskoka plan. As far as young people not being present according to Mr. Markle, perhaps they are wise enough to realize this is an evolution with a long way to go before culmination and it will all change again..we have a provincial election coming so let’s see how it all goes shall we? How many of us will even be here when this new hospital iteration comes into being; sorry to be so direct but it’s true..we Baby Boomers are on our way out!
Went to the meeting at the Active Living Center last evening. Good turnout. I was never convinced that the Ontario government would build “two full service hospitals” just 25 minutes apart. Maybe in the big cities; but hardly likely out here on the edge? However, it seems MAHC is adamant there will be two new facilities.
Maybe not the two full service that was touted, but things do change. It seems this new model offers two hospitals, where each will have a more specific part to play. Each being part of the local team. Where “team work makes the dream work”. Heard that somewhere. And this is a billion $$$ plus dream.
But the bricks and glass and carpeting and plumbing wont set a bone nor reprogram a heart, so I queried as to where the people would come from. How the MDs and nurses and orderlies and techs are to be found. I was told that these new facilities would ‘act like a magnet” to draw the qualified in.
That doesn’t speak to the retention of these new people. Will they be lured away to different sites as other new-builds come on stream? Especially if there is no change in the cost and availability of housing in our area.
There were those who voiced concerned with the necessity of travel between the two sites; but even in the big city, I was ferried from one hospital to another for whatever reason. Maybe at the extremities of our service area, people will still have to decide which way they will go; north, south, or local.
Undoubtedly rough edges will arise, but that’s why the people who formulated and presented this new made in Muskoka Plan get the big bucks! That’s a fact!! In the end they will be judged as to whether they deal with these rough spots wisely or well. And we will have to endure the repairs.
I would have thought that a lot more young people would be interested in all these happenings. After all this new hospital tandem will be more important in their lifetime than in the years remaining to the large proportion of 1%ers (a la Ben Harrison on the Bay) who did show up.
So here’s to 2032!! When all this is projected to come on stream. Good luck and good management Muskoka.