The following is a letter to the community from Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital president and CEO Carmine Stumpo.
Although the lazy days of summer have begun, it is anything but at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH).
Summer is typically a busier time for accessing healthcare as we welcome the influx of seasonal visitors to our region in addition to our growing population. More people, more activities, more of everything it seems, and, yes, that means more patients being cared for in hospital, too.
We kicked off our summer with our Fireside Chat on June 27, reviewing the highlights of our 2023-24 year that included funding for 60 additional beds announced by Premier Doug Ford last fall, increasing the number of surgeries by more than 1,000 from the previous year including twice as many orthopedic cases, the establishment of an in-hospital critical care response team, and incredible program advancements by our partners at the Couchiching Ontario Health Team.
Since our Fireside Chat a few weeks ago, we have made significant strides in additional milestones, improving access to care and making significant progress in our future plans. I would like to share some of the more notable events of the past few weeks.
On Tuesday, July 16, we were invited to take part in a special ceremony on Christian Island to acknowledge the grand opening of the Beausoleil First Nation assisted care home dialysis service. It’s truly a ‘care closer to home’ success story. Dialysis patients require multiple treatments per week and sometimes travel long distances to a hospital or specialty dialysis clinic. This new service will enable community members to receive care without leaving the Island. It is being supported in part by the Regional Kidney Care Program of Simcoe-Muskoka headquartered at OSMH, and is a great example of how we co-create health services with our partners in the Indigenous Health Circle supporting Indigenous health in Indigenous hands.
Just one week prior to our visit to Christian Island, a large group of community supporters and OSMH team members gathered at the hospital to celebrate the largest single donation to the OSMH Foundation. Philanthropist and businessman Reinhart Weber was celebrated at a special event to acknowledge his gift of $3.3 million through the Weber Foundation. The OSMH Foundation was one of more than a dozen charities throughout the region to share in a $22.5-million donation announced on July 2. The gift is designated by the foundation toward the future hospital project and recognized on exterior walls of Soldiers’ as ‘The Start of Something New.’
And less than 24 hours after celebrating the donation from Mr. Weber, our hospital was welcoming the Hon. Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health, alongside the Hon. Jill Dunlop, minister of colleges and universities, for a special announcement of their own. With OSMH as the backdrop, Minister Jones announced a $10-million fund that will build a “stronger, more resilient” healthcare workforce by providing 1,000 emergency department nurses across Ontario with virtual training modules, immersion programs to support hands-on education, and access to a specialty training fund. As a hospital, we are thrilled to create new and creative opportunities for our teams to develop their skills so they can better care for the communities we serve.
As we continue to build our services, our teams and our infrastructure, we recognize we are entering into a new phase in our hospital’s history. We remain Soldiers’, with the same values and connection to our community, while at the same time, we are growing and evolving to meet the increasing health needs of the people we serve. We are proud of what we have been able to achieve and look forward to even better in the upcoming year.
I would be remiss not to thank the entire OSMH team for their ongoing professionalism and commitment to serving our community with compassion and excellence. The team inspires me every day with their unwavering commitment to care.
I wish everyone a healthy and safe summer and look forward to another exciting year ahead.
