This is an open letter from residents of South Muskoka and copied to Doppler
Dear Resident and Neighbour:
We write with shocking and disappointing news concerning our community’s fight to save South Muskoka Hospital. The Save South Muskoka Hospital Committee (SSMHC) is informed that Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) is submitting to Ontario Health for a wholly inadequate 36-bed hospital at the South Muskoka site within days.
South Muskoka does not support this submission. The MAHC Made in Muskoka healthcare model is resoundingly rejected by the local physicians and the residents. In a recent assessment, SSMHC has identified that the Made in Muskoka model jeopardizes the health, safety and well-being of the residents of South Muskoka.
The blame for this debacle lies with MAHC. MAHC refuses to hear the reasoned and experienced voices of our physicians. MAHC ignores the voices of South Muskoka community stakeholders, such as SSMHC. MAHC rejects the guidance of our elected representatives, including Mayor Rick Maloney and the Honourable Graydon Smith, MPP, who has reasonably called for a submission only after the development of a model that is workable across the region.iii
By proceeding with this submission, MAHC is yet again in breach of the public’s trust. MAHC is certainly aware that its actions are outrageous, insulting and intolerable to South Muskoka. And with no direct accountability to the public, MAHC has sought to steamroll the hospital redevelopment: no detailed submission timelines with little to no advance notice of its actions, no workable framework for collaboration with stakeholders, and no sharing of material information to support an informed consultation.iv Of further note, MAHC has grossly deviated from its 2019 submission to the province which previously highlighted the importance of community support as a centre-piece of its proposal.v MAHC cannot assert community support this time around. And all this despite the efforts of so many in South Muskoka to find a solution focused on equitable healthcare for the entire hospital catchment.
It is now clear that MAHC has no intention to change its course. There is no good faith dialogue in MAHC’s one-sided discussion. It is time that the Made in Muskoka model is stopped. Our elected officials and this community must now rely upon the Care Close to Home model that is unanimously supported by the local physicians. This model would have 60 acute care beds at the South Muskoka site with sufficient services to attract and retain physicians to serve the entire region. Importantly,
the Care Close to Home model respects the realities of life in Muskoka while addressing the critical healthcare principals that support hospital care in South Muskoka into the future.vi South Muskoka will not accept anything less.
Now, dear resident, a crucial date is on the horizon: on Monday, October 21, the District of Muskoka is set to revisit the $77M local share contribution of municipal tax dollars to the hospital redevelopment. These are local tax dollars from a general levy that will be collected through to 2037.vii Should this funding proceed at the District, South Muskoka will be paying for the majority of this tax – to add insult to injury.
SSMHC demands that the District local share funding not proceed. This District Council must be bold: District Council must insist on a redevelopment plan that will not jeopardize the health, safety and well-being of the residents of South Muskoka. South Muskoka is depending on our District Councillors to safeguard the future of South Muskoka Hospital.
To our friends, neighbours and fellow residents, it is crucial that South Muskoka continues to stand up for South Muskoka Hospital along with our physicians between now and October 21. SSMHC is encouraging the following steps:
• Residents of Muskoka Lakes, Lake of Bays and Gravenhurst must continue to raise their concerns with municipal councillors and the District Chair. Concerningly, SSMHC is of the view that District councillors from these area municipalities may support MAHC’s Made in Muskoka model despite its many faults.
• Residents in Bracebridge must demand that the Town withhold the $10M local share contribution. Further, residents must also demand that Town Council stop the transfer of land to MAHC for a hospital site that will not properly serve the community.
• South Muskoka must demand advocacy support from our South Muskoka municipalities. SSMHC is aware of other municipalities in the province that have taken on an advocacy role in support of their respective local hospital.viii There remains opportunity for this to occur in South Muskoka.
• Residents must support and advocate for the Care Close to Home model.ix SSMHC strongly supports the Care Close to Home model as part of an overall equitable, two acute care hospital solution for Muskoka which would include 60 acute care beds at a future South Muskoka hospital site.
Additionally, SSMHC is calling on the residents of South Muskoka to share their concerns directly with the Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Doug Ford, by emailing [email protected].
It has been said that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. It is clear that the same price is required for access to hospital care close to home in South Muskoka. Speak up now to protect access to hospital care for yourself, your loved ones and your neighbours. Lives depend on it.
Sincerely,
The Save South Muskoka Hospital Committee
My family just lost our family Doctor. Some with critical medical requirements.
All we have, any of us, right now, is our Hospitals.
Will the children ever stop fighting?
Our future? Loss of funding. Loss of upgrading Both hospital sites.
The parents need to purchase the home than let the children argue.
WE need leadership not infighting among the families.
I have been voicing this concern for sometime that south Muskoka still feels it is the heart and soul of Muskoka and by not getting it’s way is having a temper tantrum. We need our elected leaders local Provincial & Federal who represent us get involved if not as politicians then as fellow citizens and stop this stupidity, Please !!! my family is seeing first hand how messed up healthcare is in Muskoka and will only get worse. and it is not the vault of those working on the ground
Keep in mind, the majority of the public fully support the MAHC proposal and want it to move forward as soon a possible.
SSMHC has its head stuck in the sand and does not represent the whole of our communities. SSMHC is looking foolish at this point in the game, cede with some bit of honor. Soon, please.
I’ve been following the fearmongering and hysteria from the members of this committee from the beginning. It’s become clear that SSMH is one gigantic ego-stroke for attention seeking individuals.
They’ve deliberately misinformed the people of Bracebridge, many of whom have been duped into believing they are losing their hospital, which is not true.
Bracebridge is getting a state of the art facility that’s significantly bigger than the current hospital. This is what happens when every Tom, Dick and Harry self-appoint themselves “experts”. SSMH have no idea about healthcare and hospital planning. The arrogance is unbelievable.
The plan isn’t perfect but shame on Mr. Kruger and Mr. Waters and all the others for what they’ve done to the unity and cohesiveness of Muskoka.
I remain of the opinion that members of this committee have not even read the plan.
As I read your letter I can not believe that you would sacrifice two state of the art hospitals because you are not getting your “wants” If you were a little older and more experienced you would know that we do not always get what we “want” In these years of entitlement we have taught our youngsters that they can have anything they want with complete disregard as to the costs
We do not have unlimited funds to satisfy everyones “wants”
MAHC has been given a tough task and I think that they have done an admirable job
We in Huntsville are not getting all our “wants” but we are mature enough to recognize that our needs are more important
I would ask that Graydon Smith and other politicians respect the wishes of all Muskoka residents including seasonal residents and not delay funding otherwise Bracebridge and area residents will have to be satisfied with their misleading and needy “Save our Hospital” hospital.
Interesting read this South Muskoka Hospital Committee open letter. Do they realize that what they want is the entire MAHC hospital. Under the plan that they are rejecting the South Muskoka site has all the outpatient investigation and management for the region. This means that the population of the largest and fasted growing town in Muskoka, Huntsville, will have to drive to Bracebridge for every outpatient investigation and treatment. The present plan will place all the long term patients (ALC) that cannot be transferred out to appropriate settings in the Huntsville Site. The Bracebridge inpatient beds will be able to be all used for acute care. Presently half of the Huntsville site inpatient beds, which is presently less than South Muskoka’s planned number of 36 are used for these long stay patients and yet the Huntsville site has continued to have significantly better physician staffing, length of stays and call coverage.
Maybe we should turn the plan on it’s head and let South Muskoka have all the presently planned beds for the Huntsville site, have their Internists run the stroke program, and move all the outpatient radiology, chemo, and surgery to the Huntsville site given the only thing the South Muskoka Hospital Committee seems to think is important for local health care are inpatient beds.