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| Charles Forret, Board Chair |
This blog has been prepared by Charles Forret, Chair of the MAHC Board of Directors
The Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare Board of
Directors recognizes the work that went into the proposal presented at the Huntsville/Bracebridge
Special Joint Council Meeting on Monday, February 1. There has been a great
deal of dialogue and commentary in the community from individuals like Ken Black,
Dr. David Mathies and others
demonstrating a growing understanding in the community of the potential risks
and benefits of the different models that have been discussed for the future
delivery of acute care.
While we understand our communities wish to
preserve two acute care sites, the Board continues to believe a One-Hospital model
best ensures safe, high-quality and sustainable health care for future
generations. The Board is responsible for defining a long-term vision for acute
care within the hospital setting, which is only one component of the concept
presented by the municipalities focused on widespread health system reform. The
Board also emphasizes that status quo is not an option within today’s
provincial financial state and objective to transform and shift health care to
more community-based care.
The model presented at the Joint Council
Meeting builds on MAHC’s Centres of Focus or “Hybrid” model. There is merit to
a Centres of Focus model in the shorter term as the Board feels that
eliminating duplication of services and concentrating patient volumes by
rationalizing services at one site is the only way to survive within today’s
funding formula and ensure that programs and services we have today are
retained and available in Muskoka. Movement towards a Centres of Focus type of
model in the shorter term is inevitable without dramatic changes to the funding
for MAHC.
The Board looks forward to further dialogue
with our municipal partners, the North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN and the Capital
Planning Task Force to better understand the implications of the model and if
and how this model will be broadly supported by the residents and visitors in
Muskoka and East Parry Sound.
The Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare Board of
Directors strongly supports a more integrated local health system and
coordinated patient- and family-centered care with the hospital/acute care
sector as a key partner in a the region. The Board is open to working with the
Hospital Retention Working Group, the municipalities and consultants behind each
of the models to address specific questions to better understand the proposal
and move forward on a solution that is sustainable for the future and that we
all agree will provide the best quality and safe patient care for our
communities.
