Plans for new Orillia hospital quashed by spring budget
There are areas of Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) that are more than 100 years old.
OSMH has been discussing the need for a new hospital in Orillia with the Ontario government.
A March 15th site visit from Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, highlighted the successes of the local Couchiching Ontario Health Team, despite the challenges the hospital is facing serving a growing community in aging infrastructure.
“While we are disappointed the province did not include a capital planning grant for the hospital in this year’s budget to modernize healthcare for our rapidly growing community, we are optimistic about our future,” said Carmine Stumpo, OSMH President and CEO.
“We will continue to work with our community and the ministry of health to chart a path for a new hospital in Orillia.”
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
In the interim, the Orillia hospital will accept the Ontario government’s investment of a 4% funding increase for hospitals in the spring 2023 budget.
This funding will help ensure that patients continue to receive the quality care they expect and deserve.
“The specific details of the funding have not been released, but the increase is further acknowledgment of the rapid growth we’ve felt in Orillia, and we anticipate the funding will help support beds we’ve added in just the past few years to meet community need,” said Stumpo.
OSMH has been operating beyond the physical capacity of its current building and has the oldest hospital infrastructure in the region, with parts of our hospital aging 101 years old. According to the Ontario Hospital Association, OSMH had the highest occupancy rate of all medium and large-sized hospitals in Ontario in 2021/2022.
In addition, the community’s population has grown twice as fast as the rest of Ontario over the past five years. It’s projected to climb by nearly 45% over the next 25 years.
OSMH continues to call on the government for a planning grant to build a new hospital and will work with the province to ensure the patients of Orillia and beyond have access to the care they deserve.
For Your Information:
- OSMH is currently operating at 141% of the baseline funded bed count, which has pushed it well over the physical capacity of the current building.
- Orillia’s population has grown twice as fast as the rest of Ontario over the past five years.
- It’s projected to keep climbing by nearly 45% over the next 25 years.
- OSMH’s emergency department is significantly undersized when compared to the growth of its community.
- A new acute care hospital would allow OSMH to increase bed and care capacity. Specifically, critical care resources, the number of ICU beds and inpatient beds, and provide more services to the women and children of the community.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.