Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare has released a statement to The Moose regarding Bracebridge’s land offer for a new hospital. CEO Natalie Bubela thanks the town for their generous offer, but MAHC won’t be making any decisions on whether to use that land at this point in time.
Statement by Natalie Bubela, Chief Executive Officer:
We acknowledge the generous offer and appreciate the efforts of the Bracebridge Town Council and Mayor Graydon Smith to help address the challenges we are all facing with respect to the hospital issues we have been studying over the past two years.
Any expansion or new build, on an existing or new site, will require us to complete our Master Program / Master Plan and follow the Ministry’s Capital Planning framework to seek approval for a project.
So in other words, the offer of any land cannot be considered until the Board of Directors has made a decision on the best safe, high-quality, sustainable model of delivering health care services to those we serve in Muskoka and East Parry Sound in the year 2030 and beyond. No decisions have been made and until our Master Program / Master Plan proposal is developed we are continuing to study -and to take public input on – all three options that are currently under consideration. We hope to be in a position to make a recommendation to the Board in May. However, we will take the time we feel is required to have the facts in hand before we go to the Board.
Later in the planning process, selecting a site for any future development would be subject to a strict and rigorous site selection process that is transparent and follows Broader Public Sector (BPS) Guideline. The process of selecting a site could take up to 12 months and would involve criteria for a structured selection process.
At this point in time, the offer of land is another piece of feedback to be considered.