{"id":137023,"date":"2023-04-29T08:17:27","date_gmt":"2023-04-29T12:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/rwddev\/?p=137023"},"modified":"2023-04-29T10:49:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-29T14:49:00","slug":"identifying-a-preliminary-preferred-site-for-a-future-smmh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/identifying-a-preliminary-preferred-site-for-a-future-smmh\/","title":{"rendered":"Identifying a preliminary preferred site for a future SMMH – MAHC CEO and President Cheryl Harrison"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hi, my name is Cheryl Harrison and in May 2022 I became President and CEO at Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare. I’m pleased to blog bimonthly on matters of interest across MAHC’s two hospital sites. From time to time, others have taken the pen as well on my behalf. Thanks for reading! Note: the CEO Blog has previously featured blog posts by Vickie Kaminski (Interim President and CEO January-May 2022) and by Natalie Bubela (President and CEO January 2012-December 2021)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our redevelopment project for two new sites continues to move along as we work through what the Ministry refers to as the \u2018Functional Program\u2019 or Stage 1.3 of its capital planning process for hospitals until the early part of 2024. This stage of planning has three components:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Program and service planning to meet our community\u2019s future needs based on population projections, and considering future changes like expanded technology;  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Site selection for a new location for the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital (SMMH); and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. The financing plan for the community\u2019s local share of $225 million of the $967 redevelopment project.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Most recently, our greatest progress has been to evaluate various land options within the urban centre boundary of Bracebridge to identify a preliminary preferred site for a future SMMH Site. In Huntsville, the property at 100 Frank Miller Drive is large enough for us to build a new hospital on the existing land, so no site selection is necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Having looked at more than 20 different properties identified through various consultations, five locations met the minimum land requirements to proceed to evaluation. The team evaluated the five properties against broad criteria for location and property, land use planning framework, and capital and servicing costs. Through our open houses and feedback survey, we were grateful to receive community input on our criteria by hearing what was most important to people when considering a future location. We heard from some that people a hospital should be located near downtown Bracebridge and the ability to access the property by means other than a vehicle, such as on foot or cycling should be part of the evaluation. We also heard that environmental impacts were key to consider as well. Environmental considerations have been part of the evaluation criteria from the beginning, but we have expanded the criteria to focus on protecting environmentally sensitive land and natural landscapes, such as avoiding clearcutting of trees and ensuring our new builds look and feel like Muskoka. Top of mind for many we have engaged with is also how future construction will minimize climate change impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The evaluation exercise found that each property had strengths and challenges, and a scoring process helped to rank their suitability for a hospital. We have narrowed the five properties to three that are considered appropriate for a future hospital:<\/p>\n\n\n\n