Withey appointed to the board of the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network

Huntsville resident Tim Withey is joining eight others on the board of the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network (NSMLHIN).

Last Wednesday, Withey was notified that he had been appointed to the board. A former Huntsville councillor who unsuccessfully ran for mayor against Scott Aitchison in 2014, Withey owns an insurance brokerage in town and has sat on various health-related boards since 1993. He’s been on the board of Fairvern, Huntsville hospital and later the Algonquin Health Services board and, before the LHINs were created by the province, Withey also sat on the district health council for this area.

I’ve always felt very strongly about the role of health care in a community. It’s really the life blood of anywhere. If you lost a hospital, how long would it be before you became a ghost town… what’s more important than your health? I guess you could argue education, etc. but if you don’t have your health, you really don’t have anything. And if you don’t have your health care, you don’t have anything either.NSM LHIN’s newest board member, Huntsville resident Tim Withey

“I was on every iteration of the Huntsville [hospital] board, in fact I was in the room when the decision was brought down to amalgamate the [Bracebridge and Huntsville] hospitals, which I voted against. I think it was not the right decision and I believe that to this day.” Withey maintains that the funding predicament Muskoka Algonquin Health Care (MAHC), which administers both hospitals, finds itself in is in part a direct result of amalgamation.

Withey is no stranger to controversy. He fought hard against the removal of obstetric services at Huntsville hospital and has been a staunch supporter of keeping two fully functioning hospitals in Muskoka. He applied to be part of the Muskoka and Area Health System Transformation (MAHST) initiative, which is re-examining how health care is funded and delivered in Muskoka and area, but did not hear back.

“It’ll be interesting to see what they eventually come up with. I think it’s a huge project. The people I’ve spoken to have said it’s quite daunting. There’s a lot of information, they’ve got tight timelines. It’ll be a challenge to get to where they need to go,” he said.

With his latest appointment to the NSM LHIN, Withey said he’ll be sitting on the other side of the table but maintains that he’ll continue to champion the necessity of health care in order to keep a community strong and growing. He’s also had to resign from the board of Fairvern, as it is one of the health care providers in the area that NSM LHIN funds, but he said his support for its redevelopment will not wane.

“I’m hoping to keep the Fairvern file on the LHIN radar now because the LHIN’s support for nursing home redevelopment is critical. So now I can pull on the rope from the other end,” he said. Withey will hit the ground running and attend his first meeting today in Orillia.

NSM LHIN is one of 14 crown agencies created throughout the province. They report to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and are responsible for planning, integrating and funding local health services in the communities they serve such as hospitals, community care access centres, long-term care homes as well as mental health and addiction programs. According to its website, in 2009 the NSM LHIN served a population of roughly 453,710 people and this catchment area, which includes the District of Muskoka, a portion of Grey County and most of the County of Simcoe. So it looks after areas such as Barrie, Orillia, Midland, Penetanguishene, Collingwood and Wasaga Beach as well as the entire District of Muskoka.

You can access a list of NSM communities here.

The NSM LHIN is responsible for allocating $880 million to 71 individual health service providers, which operate under a service accountability agreement. The agreement includes funding, performance targets and other requirements providers are expected to meet.

By the numbers

Below is a chart of the number of health organizations within the NSM LHIN catchment area, as shown on its website.

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