The Capital Plan Development Task Force, which is responsible for recommending a preferred hospital model to Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC), has recognized the need for further community engagement.
At its most recent meeting on September 11, the task force agreed to extend the public survey deadline to October 13, look for support to make hard copies of the survey available at municipal buildings and physician’s offices, and arrange further community engagement sessions before making its recommendation, according to an update released by MAHC. A public meeting at the end of August was poorly attended.
Members of the task force also identified that the project schedule for the Stage 1 future planning work is too aggressive and proposed that their recommendation not happen until the new year, rather than in December of this year. They also proposed that the MAHC Board of Directors not make its own decision until the spring of 2018.
The task force is weighing three hospital models for MAHC:
- Two sites with emergency departments in each but services and programs consolidated between the two, such as the recent single siting of services like gynecological surgery and cataract surgery. Where each service ends up would be based on “clinical needs and service co-location requirements to create greater efficiencies, larger volumes and critical mass, and reducing duplication of staffing and equipment,” according to literature provided by Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC), which manages both hospitals.
- One site inpatient/one site outpatient. These two facilities would also have emergency care departments but one site would maintain an outpatient focus, meaning no or very little beds, while the other would maintain most of the beds. “Outpatient services could include some day surgery, specialty diagnostics (such as MRI), clinics (such as dialysis), etc. Inpatient services could include medical/surgical care, intensive care and obstetrics.”
- One hospital to be ‘centrally’ located and provide all hospital services and programs on one newly built site. “Comprehensive work would be done to determine the role of potential vacated building(s) including the ability to support local urgent and primary care needs, community services, health hub development, or other alternative models. This exploration will include determining best ways to support access to urgent care models.”
The task force is chaired by Cameron Renwick, Board Director and Chair of the MAHC Board’s Strategic Planning Committee, and vice chaired by Don Mitchell, Chair of MAHST.
The task force further includes: Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison, Dr. Sheena Branigan, MAHC CEO Natalie Bubela, Charlane Cluett, Dr. Caroline Correia, Dr. Keith Cross, Jan Davidson, Peter Deane, Donna Denny, Michael Duben, Harold Featherston, Dr. Biagio Iannantuono, Dr. Jennifer Macmillan, Dr. David Mathies, Philip Matthews, Cathy McMurray, Colin Miller, Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith, Tim Smith, Eric Spinks, Cathy Still and Beth Ward. Dr. Kersti Kents resigned at the task force’s last meeting due to scheduling conflicts. The task force will recruit another physician from the Gravenhurst area to replace her.
Click here to take the survey before October 13
Related stories:
Why a centrally located, single-site hospital is not the answer – Sven Miglin
Don’t forfeit your opportunity to have a say in the future location of your hospital
Community urged to get informed about hospital models being considered
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Hugh;
Many years ago, I worked at an American – owned plant in Toronto. Money was great, job was secure but the politics would have put me in an early grave. Part of my job was to secure people’s opinions as to what the workplace should be like going ahead. Plant was just starting into the realm of computers, and if we made up a questionnaire, the idea was to channel people’s responses to one, two or three responses. Nothing in between. I’m sad to see this stuff is still going on. But it works, – if we let it. If you picked one, you lost another, and the third was usually a ‘sop’.
I am not privy to the makeup of this latest committee, I know some of the names, but not all. In a nutshell, Hugh. I think all the people want two hospitals. Full services in each. Maybe elective surgery for such and such a surgical specialty in one and the same, (different specialty elective surgery in another).
Sven Miglin wrote the best reply to your great takes on this. I was elated, until I saw this narrow slippery slope, new “Survey” that came out. I have one idea to simplify, leaving out the terms and phrases like ‘critical Mass.
Start with this and see what you get. “DO YOU FAVOUR 2 FULL SERVICE HOSPITALS, WITH ELECTIVE SURGERY SPLIT BETWEEN THEM? YES OR NO!
The ‘Committee” would then have it’s job cut out. Find the funding to make this work, in perpetuity. But you’ll have to get rid of the politicos who sit in high places. Somewhere, a few know what is actually going on in this Hospital ‘Committee’ but don’t want to or cant bring themselves to tell us.
Can we have a few comments on whether this would work?
My conclusion is that regardless of which option we choose in the survey, the end result will be essentially the same….we will have one acute care hospital in one location. For example, if we choose the in-patient/out-patient model, the in-patient site will become the acute care hospital; if we choose the division of services model, the site that has surgery will become the acute care hospital; lastly, if we choose one new facility, it will be the acute care hospital. In all scenarios, there will one building that is acute care and if there are two buildings, the second building will be a non or at least, less acute care site.
I have to chuckle that we are being told to take the survey and yet last evening at council in Huntsville one of the Councillors suggested that surveys really don’t tell us much. I have utmost respect for Jan Nyquist and of course for Beverley Hawksley – besides doing their art well, they are wonderful people.
I have taken the hospital survery – so what?
one hospital and in Huntsville thanks