Bracebridge councillors want public meeting on MAHC's local hospitals preferred option

Bracebridge Councillors want Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) to let
residents weigh-in on its preferred future option for local hospitals before any final decision is made. Currently four options that would affect hospitals in Bracebridge and Huntsville are being floated – one would see a new acute care hospital on a single new site, making the current hospitals surplus. Two other options would see one of the existing hospitals become an ambulatory site, while the other site would remain a hospital. The fourth option is to keep both Huntsville and Bracebridge hospitals open as acute care sites. This morning Mayor Graydon Smith said that while there’s been community consultation on the options to date, he thinks residents need to have their say on MAHC’s preferred one too at a future public meeting. Deputy Mayor Rick Maloney says the pending decision by MAHC is the most significant decision to affect the community in a long time. Both he and councilor Lori-Lynn Giaschi-Pacini say it’s a burning topic with residents they’ve spoken with lately.