Island residents to rally over proposed hospital changes

St. Joseph Island residents are expected to gather in front of Matthews Memorial Hospital at noon to show their displeasure over proposals regarding the Richards Landing-based hospital.

St. Joseph Township Mayor Jody Wildman said Wednesday he is concerned cuts may be coming to the Island hospital.

SooToday contacted Matthews Memorial Hospital Association board chair Sheila Campbell on Wednesday night for her reaction regarding Wildman’s release and learned she had just returned from a special meeting of the board.

Campbell said she contacted Gaston Lavigne, CEO of Blind River District Health Centre, to confirm whether or not the proposal is being considered regarding Matthews Hospital as well. She said she also provided him a heads up that news was, "about to hit the fan."

“Gaston did confirm a proposal, one of three, has been presented to (North East) Local Health Integration Network such as the reduction in services at Matthews from an emergency department to an urgent care centre,” Campbell said. "The board is putting in place a plan how to counteract the proposals being considered rather than wait for it to become a done deal.”

At Wednesday night's special meeting, the board laid out a number of items it plans to pursue for further information such as BRDHC budget deficit, how much the deficit relates to MMH, demographic figures from the catchment area, what is spent on the Matthews site per person and how that compares to other hospital sites. 

Wildman told SooToday Wednesday his concern is that BRDHC administration has recommended to the Northeast LHIN that emergency room hours at Matthews Memorial be cut from 24 hours a day to 12 hours a day (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.).

"What I understand is that it's a proposal they want to consider," Wildman said.

"Unfortunately Mayor Wildman does not have his facts in order," wrote Gaston Lavigne, BRDHC CEO, in a brief email reply to SooToday Wednesday.

Lavigne has not responded to requests to elaborate as of Thursday morning.

Wildman’s press release came as somewhat of a surprise to members of the MMHA board, said Campbell.

Campbell said she contacted the members of the board Monday calling for a special meeting with seven of the nine board members in attendance.

Campbell said she received the first call from a concerned community member Monday and several calls followed leading to the need to call a special meeting of the board.

The board will meet for its regular monthly meeting, March 14.

“Personally, I was surprised Jody had released such a statement,” Campbell said adding she had been working on behalf of the MMHA board figuring out what was coming down the pipe from Blind River District Health Centre (BRDHC) and how to get that information out into the community.

Campbell would not provide further comment or details regarding what was coming down at this time.

“I was informed by an unnamed source that discussions were taking place regarding the re-engineering of the services at Matthews in an attempt to bring the budget for BRDHC under control,” she said.

Campbell further added that in her personal opinion, and based on the confidential information she has, Wildman was premature in releasing his statement.

“As chair, I first learned about Jody’s press release when I read it briefly online, minutes before leaving for my (special) meeting,” she said.

When asked whether Wildman or any other municipal leader had contacted her seeking further information or clarity regarding the hospital, Campbell replied, “No.”

“We need the support of all the municipalities,” she added.

The information to be gathered is expected to be released at a later date.