Ford government injects $25M into Simcoe County hospital amid growing patient demand
Ontario Premier Doug Ford made a visit to Simcoe County on Friday to announce a $25 million funding injection for Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital amid increasing patient demand.
The investment includes almost $16 million in base funding - the largest year-over-year increase in the hospital's history.
It also includes a one-time investment of $9.5 for critical nurse training, and to cover the operating costs of 60 new beds already in use.
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"This is incredibly good news for our hospital, for our community, and for patients and families who rely on us for their care," stated OSMH President and CEO Carmine Stumpo. "The funding for acute medical and surgical beds will help support multiple programs and the surgical program, in particular, helping us reduce our surgical wait times."
"As our population continues to grow, this funding increase will help to ensure that the people of Orillia are connected to quality health care when and where they need it," Ford said.
"As one of the very few hospitals in our region, it is essential that OSMH is equipped to provide the highest quality health care services, and this funding allocation from the province will significantly improve their resources in order to do so," added Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop.
In January, OSMH launched a campaign aimed at urging the Ford government to include a capital planning grant for a new hospital in the 2023 spring budget.
"We need to upgrade, we need to modernize our health care facility, we need to improve the health and well-being of our community," Stumpo said in an interview with CTV News at the time.
The Orillia hospital is the oldest in the region, with parts of the facility having been built over 100 years ago.
"There are critical care areas over 70 years old," Stumpo noted.
According to the Ontario Hospital Association, OSMH had the highest occupancy rate of all medium and large hospitals in Ontario in 2021-2022.
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