The future South Muskoka Memorial Hospital (SMMH) will be located at 300 Pine St. in Bracebridge.
Dave Uffelmann, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, says the past 12 months were spent studying and evaluating the potential properties.
“The Board has concluded that the Pine St. location is the best long-term option for the future hospital in South Muskoka,” he says. “The Pine Street location ensures proximity to downtown Bracebridge and Highway 11, as well as other nearby amenities including municipal transit that will serve our communities well. Additionally, environmental impacts are minimized and the Board is pleased with the process used to arrive at this decision.”
The property was purchased by the Town of Bracebridge in June 2023 in hopes Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) would select it for the hospital.
Bracebridge Mayor Rick Maloney says it’s important the future hospital is centrally located.
“The Town of Bracebridge is pleased with the selection of 300 Pine Street as the site for the new hospital and is committed to working closely with our partners at MAHC over the coming years to help bring this important project to life,” he says. “This location is strategically located in close proximity to the urban area of Bracebridge and Highway 11, is serviced by public transit and emergency services, and will be seamlessly integrated into our existing infrastructure.”
The search for where the new SMMH would go started with 20 properties and was eventually narrowed down to two using what officials with Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare describe as a “robust evaluation criteria guided by community feedback reinforcing what is most important to choosing a new location for a hospital.”
“This has been a thorough process and very thoughtful to the complexities of making the best decision for the future hospital location as a key piece of developing an integrated health system for all of Muskoka and area for the next 50 years,” says Uffelmann.
The Huntsville District Memorial Hospital is also being redeveloped, but the new building will be located on the same land as the current hospital at 100 Frank Miller Dr.
