Editorials/Opinions
The following blog is designed to share opinions, editorials and letters highlighting the various issues, challenges and opportunities facing healthcare in Muskoka and area. Each article includes a link to the complete article, as well as the name or group writing the piece. The goal is to highlight a diverse discussion and share perspectives from experienced professionals within and outside the healthcare sector.
The future may become rather tenuous without a local hospital ~ Huntsville Women’s Group
Our concerns are as follows: Time. With a medical emergency (accident, heart attack, stroke), receiving timely medical intervention is crucial. Minutes count. Ours is a rural location, not city streets. To add more response time could prove fatal in many cases....
Only when the voice of the community is heard can we move forward ~ former Mahc directors
Only when the voice of the community is heard can we move forward ~ former MAHC directors In this commentary on the future of acute care hospital services in Muskoka, we will take you on a journey back, through the history of the issue of a single site new...
Is it time for change in our hospital board?
It may well be time for our local hospital board (MAHC) to contemplate whether it is properly constituted to most effectively represent, understand and respond to the wishes of their constituency. A recent overview of elected entities and community representative boards suggests a broader trend underway – that elected bodies and community representative groups increasingly need to be structured to hear and respond more directly to their constituents.
How task force could change the face of Muskoka health care
Vision includes integrating health services for seamless patient care, and more Jill Tettmann is the CEO for the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network. - nsmlhin.on.ca/Photo MUSKOKA – A task force created to map a future for integrated health-care...
Miglin sounds in on Muskoka one-hospital plan
The next chapter in Muskoka ‘s ongoing hospital saga is about to unfold. In July, the Ontario government provided Muskoka Algonquin Health Care (MAHC) with $1 million to proceed with the development of its capital redevelopment plan. In May 2015, MAHC had proposed...
One-hospital future reopened for debate with new task force in Muskoka
Evelyn Brown, board chair for Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC), spoke with muskokaregion.com following a comment she made as she and MAHC CEO Natalie Bubela made the rounds to area municipal councils to update regional political leaders on the progress of long-term planning for hospital infrastructure here.
“Although the board made the one-site decision, the world has shifted,” Brown told Town of Huntsville council members at their meeting on July 24. The decision launched protests and rallies across Muskoka and East Parry Sound and led to a historic joint meeting between the Bracebridge and Huntsville town councils, both eager to find an alternative.
Amalgamated Muskoka hospitals worry Parry Sound, Almaguin ambulance service
An analysis of district-wide ambulance services revealed a threatening reality should Muskoka hospitals amalgamate to one location. “We all know what’s going on in Muskoka, right?” said Town of Parry Sound Director of Emergency and Protective Services Dave Thompson…
Single Muskoka hospital committee bringing in Almaguin representation
A new committee formed by the North Simcoe-Muskoka health authority is discussing the options for creating one, single hospital in Muskoka — likely either in Huntsville or Bracebridge — and Almaguin is well represented at the table. “Reeve Cathy Still will be the voice for Almaguin at the table talks…
One hospital in future for Muskoka
Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare board members Christine Featherstone, left, Brenda Gefucia and Evelyn Brown spoke in favour of a single-hospital model for Muskoka's long-term future, as did other board members, at a board meeting on May 27. The board unanimously approved...