Despite community opposition, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare is proceeding with its plan to redevelop its two hospital sites.
On July 2, the board of directors unanimously voted in favour of its health care planning consultants to proceed with detailed planning for redeveloping its hospital sites in Bracebridge and Huntsville.
The decision allows the hospital planning team to refine the redevelopment proposal before submitting the final proposal by November to secure its place in the provincial hospital redevelopment queue.
“This step is a testament to our commitment to superior health care and responsiveness to community feedback,” said Cheryl Harrison, the health care CEO.
Earlier this year, the health care organization unveiled its new plan to build two new hospitals in Bracebridge and Huntsville, replacing the two existing hospitals and splitting services between the two hospitals, each focusing on different specialties.
In the plan, Huntsville would get the vast majority of inpatient beds, while the Bracebridge site would focus on outpatient day procedures.
After some changes to the initial proposal, both locations are now planned to offer obstetric programs for delivering babies, whereas the old plan called for the program to be offered only in Huntsville.
The plan would also expand acute care beds at the Bracebridge site and emergency department sizes to 27 treatment bays at both hospitals, develop a new Level 3 ICU, and create reactivation and rehabilitation units to advance quality care locally.
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Both locations will have emergency departments and intensive care units, with patients transferred between the two communities depending on their health needs.
However, residents and health-care workers have been outspoken about the plan to split services between the sites. They see it as a loss to the Bracebridge community and say it will dissuade doctors from moving there.
Katie Peleikis, a former 911 dispatcher and a member of the Save South Muskoka Hospital Committee, wrote in an email that it was caught off guard by the approval. “These decisions being pushed through will put the community in danger.”
A group of local doctors penned an open letter earlier this year against the new plan, and the Ontario Nurses Association released a statement saying that it was a loss of health care service and that it stands with the community.
When news of the vote was shared, Bracebridge’s mayor wrote on social media that he was disappointed by the decision, given that it does not have the support of local doctors.
Mayor Rick Maloney wrote that the health centre is not “listening to the repeated concerns they have heard from south Muskoka stakeholders.”
“Two weeks ago, I facilitated a meeting between MAHC and south Muskoka doctor representatives,” he wrote on social media.
“Productive discussions, willingness to share information with a commitment for continued dialogue were very positive takeaways from this meeting. It is beyond comprehension that MAHC would, at this critical juncture, wish to upset this effort by forging ahead with an unsupported model. I can only draw the conclusion that there is no intent to find a path forward.”
The health centre’s board chair said in a statement that it would continue to address the community’s concerns and incorporate them into the planning process.
“We are confident in moving forward with the currently proposed plan, which is rooted in a commitment to quality patient care,” said board chair Dave Uffelmann.
With a catchment area extending south to Severn Bridge, north to Sundridge, west to Parry Sound, and east to Haliburton, MAHC emphasizes that, though the hospitals will be located in the towns of Bracebridge and Huntsville, they are designed to serve the entirety of Muskoka and surrounding regions.