Midhurst ON – County of Simcoe Councillors were recognized for their ongoing commitment to the well-being of County residents when representatives from Simcoe County hospitals and Southlake Regional Health Care Centre stopped by to thank them for another $3 million in support of capital projects across the region.

The $3 million is part of a 10-year $30 million commitment by the county that started in 2007 for hospital redevelopment projects. Funds are distributed to the Simcoe County Hospital Alliance which includes Southlake, Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Collingwood General and Marine Hospital, Georgian Bay General Hospital in Midland, Alliston’s Stevenson Memorial Hospital and Orillia Soldiers Memorial Hospital and Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.

“The residents of Simcoe County really are the beneficiaries of these funds. These dollars have helped pay for cancer centres in Barrie and Newmarket, new emergency departments and expansion of services such as dialysis and diagnostic imaging in Orillia, Midland, Alliston and Collingwood. Every year we are pleased to appear before County Council to bring thanks on behalf of our patients to County Council for this generosity,” said Guy Chartrand, the chair of the Alliance and Collingwood General and Marine Hospital President and CEO.

Following a small appreciation event in the morning, Chartrand also provided an update to Council during the regular meeting as to how the funds are being used and information on the growing use of area hospitals in the last year.

“Over the last nine years we have provided significant funding to our hospitals directly supporting important projects that positively impact the lives of our residents,” said Warden Marshall. “As a County government, service provider and funding partner, we play an important role in the local health care system. We will also continue to advocate other levels of government to ensure our residents continue to have access to world-class health care services.”

Details of how the $3 million was distributed to the five hospitals for 2015 include:

Collingwood General & Marine Hospital   $222,751

Georgian Bay General Hospital                  $540,483

Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre      $1,859,297

Southlake Regional Health Centre             $238,150

Stevenson Memorial Hospital                      $131,032

The Simcoe County Hospital Alliance was established in 2002 to advise the County of ongoing hospital capital needs. It is comprised of CEOs of all hospitals located in Simcoe County as well as Newmarket, and aims to ensure equitable distribution of available funding from the County to Alliance hospitals.

Since 1994 the County has provided $62.2 million to the hospitals in Simcoe County and Southlake, with the current $30 million commitment ending in 2016.