To the Editor:
I could not believe what I was reading in an article in the Feb. 1 issue of Maclean's (Ontario hospital goes ‘mini’: Construction on the Family Health Hub begins in 2011.)
The quote from the CEO of the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) says that this mini hospital is "the future of health care in Ontario"
I think perhaps, that the residents of Parry Sound District, particularly Burk's Falls will find this article as disturbing as I since they have finally lost the battle to save the Burk's Falls Hospital that served residents between North Bay and Huntsville as a, to quote the article, Family Health Hub. The services performed at Burk's Falls surely saved patients long waits in Huntsville as well as the long drive and time involved in getting there.
This LHIN is getting a $1-million grant to get the "planning phase" off the ground. Construction is to begin next year.
Burk's Falls has a building already, that was used for years. Perhaps a $1 million dollar grant would have kept this "mini hospital" going since "this is the future of health care." Is this the same Ontario I am living in? Why do I feel that our provincial government is talking out of both sides of its mouth when it talks about healthcare.
The people of Parry Sound District are being ripped.
Bill Paterson
Emsdale, On