The demand on Orillia’s hospital is increasing and it is highlighting the need for a new facility, city council heard Monday.
Officials from Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) made a presentation to council that included an update on the future hospital project.
The city’s population is growing, and will continue to grow, especially the senior population, creating an expected 40 per cent increase in demand for beds at OSMH over the next 15 years.
“We see and feel the difference in this growth over the last five years,” said Dr. Aaron Barnett, chief of emergency medicine at OSMH.
That puts pressure on hospital resources and services, which has been felt for the past few years.
In 2016, “it felt like our infrastructure was at capacity,” Barnett said, adding it now seems to be “past capacity.”
The number of patients is increasing, many with complex health-care needs, and mental health diagnoses are also on the rise.
“Their care needs are increasing in our region,” Barnett said.
There is one “safe room” at OSMH for mental health patients, though work is underway to create two more. However, Barnett said, there are four to six patients on average who would benefit from that resource but might not be able to.
“That results in compromised care,” he said.
There are also some “significant deficiencies” with the emergency department, as identified in a study this year. That includes the fact only three of the 34 emergency rooms meet current standards.
Barnett said there have also been issues with infrastructure, much of which is “end-of-life.”
It was noted in the presentation flooding and roof leaks are “all too common.”
The cost of completing the required major infrastructure upgrades and repairs is equal to the local share of the cost of constructing a new hospital, said Tom Roberts, vice-president of corporate services/chief financial officer.
“Support for a new hospital on a new site has been resounding,” he said of the results of community engagement about the project.
“Our community deserves a modernized facility.”
It will take years before the doors will open at a new hospital. OSMH is in Stage 1 of a five-stage process to get there. It has submitted its proposal to the Ministry of Health and is awaiting a response.
Coun. Ralph Cipolla asked about the cost of a new hospital and how much would need to be contributed on a local level.
“My concern is the amount of money that we can raise in the City of Orillia, what our commitment will be. I think we really need to know that before we go to budget this year,” he said.
If the province approves the hospital’s proposal, more details about cost can then be looked at, Roberts said.
Coun. Pat Hehn noted TVs were removed from patient rooms and asked if they would be replaced.
The contracted services for the TVs proved “cost prohibitive” for the hospital, and the costs paid by patients were “excessive,” said OSMH president and CEO Carmine Stumpo.
Instead, the hospital moved to a free Wi-Fi system and has eight devices that can be lent to patients and families who don’t have them.
Coun. Rob Kloostra pointed out Orillia’s population isn’t growing as quickly as that of some other areas and he asked where the local hospital project might land on the list of the province’s priorities.
In a recent analysis of 16 hospitals between Oakville and Muskoka, Stumpo responded, the hospitals in Orillia and Collingwood had the highest occupancy. That’s one reason Orillia can “make a very solid case” to the province, he said.
Later in the meeting, council passed a motion, introduced by Coun. Ted Emond, with the goal of supporting the project and encouraging the province to do the same. The motion supported, in principle, OSMH’s Stage 1 submission to the province “and the need for a modernized acute-care hospital in Orillia.”
It also called for Mayor Steve Clarke to meet with local members of Parliament, the minister of health and the premier to express council’s support for a modernized OSMH.
Finally, the motion will see council consider that a contribution to the OSMH reserve for the project be referred to this fall’s budget deliberations for 2022.
