By Cecilia Nasmith
Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini delivers good hospital-funding news at Northumberland Hills Hospital
An additional $1-million in base funding for Northumberland Hills Hospital will go a long way to address some chronic challenges it faces in service delivery and planning.
Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini made the announcement Thursday in the hospital's Bistro to a delighted audience.
“Over the past year, our government has made a number of landmark local health-care investments, including this one today, and I am really pleased to announce NHH will be receiving an increase in base funding of over $1-million and up to $335,000 in one-time funding by the province,” Piccini said.
“This increase in base funding is above the provincial average, and it is important because the strains a medium-sized hospital faces in Ontario today deserve that recognition. You need the support from your provincial government for the unique strains we race as a growing community outside the GTA.”
While needs are growing in all areas, Piccini acknowledged high levels of ALC (Alternative Level of Care) patients who no longer need acute care but lack the community-based supports they require to be discharged (and who continue to occupy a hospital bed in the meantime).
Piccini said his government has pledged to deliver 15,000 long-term-care beds that could relieve this bottleneck, of which 6,000 have already been invested in.
They have also acknowledged NHH's continuous struggles with surges in patient admissions with special surge funding, he added.
“After years of the hospital struggling with an operational shortfall, this increase to base funding will assist in building sustainability for acute-care services by providing a stronger financial situation,” Piccini stated.
“We know we need to invest right here in the important work our health-care professionals are doing on the front lines. Thanks to you, I have had a much better understanding of the pride and the challenges you face on a day-to-day basis, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to come in and get a snapshot.
“And it doesn't stop today. Every day from here on, you have an MPP and a government that is listening and that so thanks you for the work you and your remarkable team do for the community.”
As her first official act as board chair, Pam Went thanked the MPP for the increases – which are actually $1,003,504 more in base funding and up to $335,940 in one-time funding.
From left, Northumberland Hills Hospital president and chief executive officer Linda Davis and board chair Pam Went welcomed Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini Thursday for a good-news funding announcement, along with NHH chief of staff Dr. Mukesh Bhargava.
