Ontario provides nearly $1.5M increase in base funding for Northumberland Hills Hospital

The Ontario government is providing a nearly $1.5 million increase in base funding for Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg to address challenges by the coronavirus pandemic and address “hallway healthcare.”

Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini made the announcement outside the hospital on Monday morning. He said the hospital would receive $1,497,300 (including annualization) which is approximately a 2.8 per cent increase on the estimated base and one-time funding received in 2020-2021.

Piccini says the funding is part of the province’s $760M Action Plan to respond to the pandemic and $300M to reduce surgical backlogs.

“Today’s announcement builds on previous historic investments at Northumberland Hills Hospital, and it continues to send a clear message that this government is determined to fix the long-standing funding inequities that for so many years have disadvantaged small and medium-sized hospitals,” he stated.

“These unprecedented times have highlighted the importance of having a strong health care system and I will continue to work alongside Northumberland Hills Hospital towards the goal of strengthening health care in our riding.

“I want to thank the hard-working team at Northumberland Hills Hospital for being instrumental in keeping our residents safe during the COVID pandemic,” he added.

President and CEO Linda Davis says the hospital is “extremely grateful” for the continued support from the province.

“The investment announced by our MPP today will better enable our team to support the needs of this growing and aging community,” she said.

Northumberland County Warden Bob Crate also thanked the province for its support to provide the region with “sustainable, responsive, quality health care.”

“This is further evidence of the province’s commitment to ending hallway medicine, and to overcoming the challenges created by COVID-19, as our hospital — and our community — works towards recovery and renewal from the global pandemic,” said Crate.

The province says it aims to provide all Ontario public hospitals with a minimum one per cent base increase for 2021-2022.  The government is investing more than $21 billion over the next 10 years for hospital projects across Ontario that will lead to $30 billion in hospital infrastructure.