Hospital redevelopment plan submitted, Poplar site preferred
Stage one of the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital’s redevelopment Master Plan was submitted to the Health Capital Investment Branch of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network on Sept. 30, following board approval on Sept. 29.
“On behalf of the board of trustees, I feel a great sense of accomplishment, as the submission moves forward to the Ministry,” said hospital board chair Thom Paterson in a news release. “A great deal of work has been accomplished to date and while we all know it’s a long journey, the Board is committed and deeply invested in this process, and looks forward to the possibility of one day placing a shovel in the ground.”
The submission follows motions of support for the Stage 1 A/B – Master Program/Master Plan application from each of the four municipalities the hospital services in the south Georgian Bay community of Collingwood, Clearview Township, the Blue Mountains and Wasaga Beach.
“We felt it was extremely important to meet the September 30 deadline for submission in order to get our redevelopment project in the queue for the 2017/18 Provincial budget, however the decision to proceed to Stage Two is a review of the entire process to date, including the MOH’s impression of municipal alignment within our south Georgian Bay community. If they sense conflict, it could impact our submission,” said hospital president and CEO Guy Chartrand.
At the June 23 board of trustees meeting, the board received a recommendation from the Facilities Planning Committee as to the preferred location for a new hospital facility – the Poplar Sideroad site.
“The board feels this is the right site, but chose not to make a final decision on the location at the June meeting. We are in unanimous agreement that community alignment continues to remain at the forefront and meetings should continue with all of the local municipalities over the summer months, as they have done. Alignment means increased probability of success for this project,” said Paterson.
All three development options – current site, current site with adjacent properties and generic greenfield site – are submitted to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as part of the proposal.
It is up to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to make a final determination, as to whether the redevelopment of the hospital will proceed and what form, including location, it will take.
Pending Ministry approval, the hospital will move to the next stage of the planning process.
On Sept. 6, mayors and municipal representatives of CGMH’s four service municipalities, Clearview Township, Collingwood, The Blue Mountains and Wasaga Beach met at the Hospital, as they have twice previously, to come to consensus on how best to assist the hospital in moving its redevelopment project forward.
The group reached consensus in its support of the $400 million hospital redevelopment project, a key component of a successful application to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
