There may soon be conditions on the $10 million commitment the Town of Bracebridge made to Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare’s (MAHC) local share for its hospital redevelopment project.
During the July 3 Planning and Development Committee meeting, council agreed to have staff look into putting conditions on the commitment. It comes a day after MAHC pushed forward with “detailed planning” for its “Made-in-Muskoka healthcare system” proposal.
The motion was approved unanimously, but needs further approval during the town’s July 10 council meeting.
Mayor Rick Maloney, who put the motion forward along with Coun. Don Smith, also invited representatives from MAHC to join an upcoming council meeting.
“My disappointment has been expressed,” said Maloney, referencing the statement he posted on his Facebook page Tuesday afternoon.
In it, he said MAHC has “welded their train to the tracks” with a model that isn’t supported by many physicians in south Muskoka, nor the community.
Maloney pointed out the post noted he’s lost trust in “MAHC’s process,“, however, he clarified he said the community’s health and well-being is one of council’s most important priorities.
“I don’t think any of us at the time when we made that commitment would have thought we would be in this situation,” said Maloney. “I think many of us were excited about the opportunities that lay ahead of us for our community, for the future of healthcare, for the next generation [who] would be accessing this healthcare for generations to come.”
He said the town’s local share commitment must meet “certain conditions.”
Bracebridge made its commitment in Sept. 2023, a few months prior to MAHC unveiling its new proposal in Jan. 2024, which they dubbed the “Made-in-Muskoka healthcare system” proposal.
MAHC announced it had achieved over 90 percent its $225 million local share goal in Oct. 2023.
Smith said council was not told about the change ahead of time and suggested MAHC thinks the town’s funding is “a given.”
“What organization, might I ask, gets a commitment of $10 million in funding and then does not meet with that funder to explain a major change in the permeameters of their project and pushes ahead without negotiating an outcome that has the support of that funder and the community,” asked Smith.
He added it’s frustrating they have to ask MAHC to attend a council meeting, not the other way around.
Maloney added he’s had conversations with District Chair Jeff Lehman, Mayor of Gravenhurst Heidi Lorenz, and Mayor of Muskoka Lakes Peter Kelley since MAHC made its decision Tuesday night.
“We will let that develop in its own way,” he said.
A statement from Lorenz was published Wednesday afternoon.
“Work on getting new hospitals must continue,” she said. “I have and continue to meet regularly with other municipal partners, physicians, and Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare to ensure our community needs remain at the forefront.”
Gravenhurst agreed to contribute $1 million to the local share, provided a few conditions are met, including that “effort be made by Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare to provide urgent-care clinic services in the Town of Gravenhurst as well as walk-in clinic support.”
Maloney shared that during conversations with District Chair Jeff Lehman and his other district colleagues, there may be interest to have a discussion during district council about the ongoing hospital redevelopment project.
Coun. Tatiana Sutherland, who was chair for the meeting, complimented the “tremendous efforts in the community” to not let their voice be silenced.
“The community has not stopped or missed a beat on this and has kept the energy going,”she said.
Sutherland added Bracebridge has been “dramatically underestimated.”
“I hope that when my now six-year-old daughter is 26, I can look at her and say we fought for you, and we fought this hospital and we didn’t rollover,” she finished.
