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.