Brockville General Hospital is getting a big financial boost from the provincial government to help pay off a significant deficit incurred over the last several years.
According to the office of Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds, Grenville, Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes and minister of municipal affairs and housing, the hospital will be receiving more than $25.5 million to address its working funds deficit.
“A working funds deficit occurs when an organization’s current liabilities exceed their current assets,” a news release from Clark’s office said Thursday.
Michael Adamcryck, chair of the hospital’s board of directors, said the hospital’s deficit is due to underfunding.
“Prior to 2017, in order to sustain services for the community, Brockville General Hospital’s past administrations had to make the difficult decisions to operate through financial loans, resulting in excessive debt,” he said.
This debt resulted in payments of around $600,000 in interest per year, the hospital said.
“(Thursday’s) funding announcement of $25.6 million will be used to pay off our debts. More importantly, it enables us to be ambitious in how we invest in local healthcare,” said Nick Vlacholias, Brockville General Hospital’s president and CEO.
The funding is part of a pledge from the provincial government to offer nearly $700 million this year to help cover historic working fund deficits for hospitals that apply for the funding.