The District of Muskoka approved the Muskoka Algonquin HealthCare’s (MAHC) proposed model, in the October 21, 2024 meeting.

According to MAHC, the hospitals will provide a “regional service” to Muskoka and surrounding areas, including Sundridge, Port Severn, Parry Sound, and Haliburton Highlands.

They advised that key issues moving forward will be “communication, transportation, and beds.”

They added that additional changes will be ongoing once the plan has been approved by the upper government, which will foster more discussion moving forward. “We set the local share aside in the immediate term. We’re not concerned about every last dollar until we know what we’re thinking about.”

They continued that they aren’t 100% where they need to be yet and were “$15 Million short out of $225 Million.” However, they recently received an additional $10 Million. They suggested to “see what the total comes to and deal with it at that time.”

Previous Councillor Frank Jaglowitz presented his concerns to Council about who will pay for the rest of the local share. He said they are asking for a large sum of money, and “it appears it’s going to come from the taxpayers.”

Jaglowitz said that the funding is the responsibility of the province rather than the municipality, and that “it shouldn’t be taxing for it.”

He suggested that the money can come from private sources, and that “the municipality doesn’t have to get involved.” He added that it should be discussed further when the topic reopens, and that they should “try to find a fair way to do that. “Fair is fair,” he said.

He also recommended that Council defer the proposal and “find a fair way of having the residents of this fine municipality pay for it.”

Councillor Rick Maloney expressed appreciation for the additional 10 beds that were added for the South Muskoka hospital, which he said, “offers flexibility” and is what doctors in that area were advocating for.

He added that it supports the need for patients to be closer to home, and that many patients are there because of social-economic challenges. He said, “That is a challenge we should all be concerned about.”

Maloney continued that it’s been a challenging year given the conflicts with the new model. He said, “The past 10 months have been nothing but divisive, strained relationships, and forced doctors to take sides.”

He also agreed with Jaglowitz about local share funding. He said, “The local share should not be local levy.” He suggested that small communities are on “an unequal playing field [with] have and have not municipalities and healthcare.” He added, “There needs to be a better way for voices to be heard.”

He continued about the importance of the Board being more connected to the community, which was lacking. “I believe we would have not gone through the challenges we’ve gone through in the past year.”

Councillor Nancy Alcock said, “Today I think is a great day. It’s a really good day for our entire region.”

She agreed that the process was challenging, however, “without all the input, we wouldn’t be here today.”

She added that Huntsville Council thought the previous model was “great for all communities,” and although she didn’t read the new one yet, believes they will support this new one too. “I know they will be thrilled to put their stamp on this,” she said.

Alcock added that the new model will be an improvement to the current healthcare system, including new services for the whole region.

District Chair Jeff Lehman advised that the “net new beds are for all of Muskoka.” He added, “That additional capacity at south Muskoka site is a very important step forward.”

Council agreed that the process will take time and ongoing planning.

Councillor Peter Kelley quoted a physician as saying, “The number of beds doesn’t matter if they’re full of people who shouldn’t be in the hospital in the first place.”

He advised that measures are being considered by the Muskoka and Area Ontario Health Team to come up with a regional plan “so beds are used for patients with acute care, surgical, and emergencies, as intended.”

He added, “We still have a lot of marathon to run as a community in Muskoka.”