After receiving a request for funding from two of the local hospitals, the Town of the Blue Mountains (TBM) council agrees it needs to better define how healthcare facilities in the area are being used and funded.
“We need to take a step back and look at how we are funding our healthcare as a region,” said TBM councillor Rob Sampson during the TBM virtual council meeting held yesterday. “Depending on where you are located [in TBM], you will visit the closest hospital. I think we need a review of that usage so that we can properly allocate our resources.”
The TBM grants and donations committee recently received an application from both the Meaford Hospital Foundation and the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH).
The CGMH has asked TBM to contribute $10,000 towards the $1-million cost of a new X-ray machine. The Meaford Hospital Foundation has requested $30,000 for the purchase of new beds, mattresses, stretchers, and wheelchairs.
“This ask came into the grants and donations committee, which received them favourably,” said Peter Bordignon, TBM councillor and chair of the grants and donations committee. “Unfortunately, they were for capital requests, which is out of the purview of the grants and donations application process. That is why it was referred to the council.”
When presented with the asks, council members posed a lot of questions - how has TBM supported these facilities in the past? What contributions are other Grey County municipalities making? What are the usage rates at these facilities for TBM residents? And, what funds are available to fulfil these requests?
“Typically, the CGMH gets $5,000 through the grants and donation committee,” said Ruth Prince, director of finance and IT services for the TBM. “In the past, the previous council had made a $125,000 contribution to the Meaford Hospital Foundation and spread that over five years. So, $25,000 a year. But both of those have since expired.”
Prince confirmed there were no considerations in the 2020 budget to make contributions to the local hospitals. Therefore, the finance department is recommending the funds for these requests come from the TBM’s healthcare reserve fund.
“We do not make an annual contribution to the healthcare reserve. We could, but we do not,” Prince said, adding that the healthcare reserve has been set aside generally for physician recruitment initiatives. "We did not have money set aside for the council to consider these requests."
Councillor Andrea Matrosovs, who is also a member of the joint physician recruitment and retention committee, inquired about what other municipalities in the area are doing in terms of funding these regional facilities and pointed out the difference in funding support each facility currently receives due to the fact that they sit in different counties.
“There is a much different perspective on the dollars that can be generated on the Simcoe County side. I want to make sure that we are considering both hospitals in their unique scenarios,” said Matrosovs.
Mayor Alar Soever agreed, adding, “Simcoe county has been quite generous. They also have a larger tax base than Grey, so it is easy for them to do that.”
In terms of what other lower-tier Grey County municipalities are doing in regards to funding local healthcare facilities, Prince said, for the most part, they are funding the hospitals that are in the closest proximity to their community base.
“Meaford does have a 10-year agreement with the Meaford Hospital Foundation, it ends in 2021 and they give $50,000 a year,” said Prince. “I conducted a survey back in 2019, a lot of the other lower-tier municipalities [in Grey County] give to the hospitals that are close to them. For example, Grey Highlands gives to the Markdale Hospital.”
Councillor Paula Hope argued that the council should be supporting both hospitals with the full amount asked, regardless of usage or the fact that the funding was not allocated in the 2020 budget, especially given the current COVID-19 circumstances.
“These requests are detailed and there is no reason to not grant this money, especially at this time,” Hope said.
After much discussion, TBM council voted unanimously in supporting the Meaford Hospital Foundation with $18,000, and the CGMH with $5,000, both of which will be pulled from the TBM healthcare reserve fund.
“I know Collingwood has come to us a couple of times for contributions to their capital grant program for their hospital and it is much larger than this number. I think we need a better understanding of how and when to allocate these funds,” said Sampson.
