By Cecilia Nasmith
Following Thursday's special Northumberland County council meeting and its five-to-two vote to support the county's two hospitals to the tune of $1.25-million over five years, the county has issued a press release outlining how those funds will be spent in supporting strong, sustainable local health-care services.
Warden Bob Crate explained in the announcement that the province provides funding for hospital operations and infrastructure. However, Crate added, “Council recognizes that contributions from the community are vital to enhance hospital services and procure the capital equipment necessary for essential care.
“The investment announced today will support continued local access to important testing and treatment and improved coordination of care for Northumberland residents. County council is pleased to partner with Northumberland hospitals to help ensure robust local health care services that can accommodate the changing needs of our growing community.”
Based on a joint proposal from the two hospitals, 75% of the county's investment will be allocated to Northumberland Hills Hospital and 25% to Campbellford Memorial Hospital.
Funds will initially be directed toward the implementation of the Epic clinical information system at both hospitals before transitioning, in the later years of the agreement, to contributions towards the purchase of equipment – such as an MRI machine and a CT scanner at NHH, and a colonoscope and a portable ultrasound at CMH.
The announcement noted that investment in the local roll-out of the Epic system will support broad application of technology to substantially improve the delivery of health care services.
“Epic is one of the world’s largest electronic health records software companies, and their system has been adopted by hundreds of leading hospitals in North America and Europe,” it stated.
“As regional implementation rolls out, this system will enable seamless access to health information across seven hospital organizations representing 14 hospitals, changing the delivery of care.”
Upon its implementation, each of the 1.5-million people in the Central East region who receives hospital care will have a single unified personal health record across the partner hospitals. The result should be a substantial improvement in the patient experience in terms of support throughout transitions among hospital organizations and services, as well as helping health professionals, patients and caregivers to make the best possible decisions about each individual’s treatment and care.
Epic is slated to go live for all seven partner organizations next month.
“Implementation of the Epic system represents a unique opportunity for municipal-hospital partnership to drive the digital evolution of local health care services to improve patient experience,” Crate stated.
“This system will ensure Northumberland residents obtaining care through local hospitals – and through partner hospitals throughout the Central East region – have the information and access necessary to be empowered partners in their own care.
“This aligns with the county’s Digital Strategy, and is exactly the kind of transformative work council is seeking to support with this investment, generating lasting change for improved delivery of local health care services.”
Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation Executive Director Rhonda Cunningham expressed their appreciation for the commitment council made.
“We understand this decision to support capital funding was a significant one, given the many requests and demands before council, and we thank them for their willingness to join us in ensuring local health care is a priority,” Cunningham said.
“This is one step towards preparing for the significant needs facing NHH as Northumberland County continues to grow and age. As we look forward to the years ahead, we will need the support of our full community to ensure we continue to have access to modern, advanced, high-quality care close to home.”
“On behalf of the Campbellford Memorial Hospital (CMH) & Foundation I thank Northumberland County Council for partnering with their community hospitals,” CMH Foundation Executive Director John Russell added.
“The pandemic has highlighted the critical need to invest in our hospitals to ensure the best patient-care experience possible. The incredible demand for health care continues to grow in our county.
“Our combined fundraising goal of $50-million for medical equipment and technology will be a monumental undertaking, as we continue to work to ensure all residents have access to the high quality care they deserve.”
