Peterborough and Lindsay hospitals hold town halls to discuss proposed integration

Town hall meetings starting Tuesday night will allow the public to discuss the proposed integration of hospitals in Peterborough and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

In June, Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) in Lindsay submitted a joint directional plan to integrate both hospitals into a single hospital network with two sites.

A decision won’t be made until the fall but both hospitals said the proposal would include “extensive” stakeholder consultations.

Both hospitals are jointly hosting town hall events in communities they serve:

• Tuesday, July 24 (7 p.m. to 8 p.m.): Bobcaygeon Service Centre (123 East. St. S., Bobcaygeon)
• Tuesday, July 31 (7 p.m.-8 p.m.): Fenelon Falls Community Centre (27 Veteran’s Way, Fenelon Falls)
• Tuesday, Aug. 7 (6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.): McDonnel St. Activity Centre (577 McDonnel St., Peterborough)
• Wednesday, Aug. 15 (6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.): Peterborough Golf & Country Club (1030 Armour Rd., Peterborough)
• Wednesday, Aug. 29 (7 p.m. -8 p.m.) Ross Memorial Hospital cafeteria (10 Angeline St. North, Lindsay)

“An integration of this nature would put us among the top tier of large community hospitals in Ontario, giving us a stronger voice in attracting new programming and resources from the LHIN and the province, as well as increasing our attractiveness to prospective employees,” stated Dr. Peter McLaughlin, PRHC President and CEO.

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Added RMH President and CEO Dr. Bert Lauwers: “For the next two months, we’ll continue to move forward with the formal process of thoroughly exploring the benefits and risks of integration. This process will be done in good faith, with the best interests of our patients in mind, and will include extensive consultations with our internal, community and regional stakeholders.”