Things will not go back to normal post-pandemic, the chair of the Simcoe County Hospital Alliance told County of Simcoe council this week.
As part of Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting, councillors received an annual update from Simcoe County Hospital Alliance chair Jody Levac, who also serves as president and chief executive officer of Stevenson Memorial Hospital (SMH) in Alliston.
In providing an update on the current state of hospitals across Simcoe County, Levac expressed the strain being put on the current system, and what is expected to come in the future.
“What is extremely concerning today is the inflationary costs related to construction resources and supply issues from the pandemic,” said Levac. “Over the next 30 years, billions will need to be invested in hospital infrastructure projects.”
As part of the presentation, Levac noted that the county had pledged $45 million over 15 years to the various hospitals to support hospital capital projects. While he said 90 per cent of capital costs for hospitals are funded through the province, 10 per cent is considered the local share and must be raised locally. He also noted equipment is 100 per cent funded through hospital foundation and community fundraising.
He said health care accounts for about half of the provincial budget.
“We need, as hospitals, to provide care differently, and we are,” said Levac. “We know from current numbers that there can be anywhere from 10 to 40 patients waiting at each of our emergency departments for a bed. There’s also a backlog of thousands of patients waiting for surgery on non-urgent procedures, or people with chronic illness.”
Levac noted that the pandemic has also created staffing difficulties, with hundred of staff off for varying reasons. However, he noted about 3,000 new staff have been added to hospitals across the region throughout the pandemic.
“We know resources will be strained but we’re working to provide high-quality care within our region as we look to end hallway medicine,” he said.
The Simcoe County Hospital Alliance is comprised of Jane Sinclair, general manager of health and emergency services with the County of Simcoe; Mike Lacroix, interim president and chief executive officer of Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH); Gail Hunt, president and CEO of Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH);Janice Skot, president and CEO of Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH); Carmine Stumpo, president and CEO of Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital (OSMH); Arden Krystal, president and CEO of Southlake Regional Health Centre; and Carol Lambie, president and CEO of Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.
Levac said that in the past when the alliance has come before councils for an annual report, they typically highlight how busy hospitals are.
“Today, we want to highlight how, in the midst of having occupancy levels as high as 100 to 115 per cent providing urgent care, cancers services and emergency and surgical services, we also cared for 3,278 COVID-19 patients,” said Levac. “Our ICUs have regularly been at 100 per cent occupancy.”
According to the presentation provided to councillors, a further breakdown of COVID-19 admissions are as follows:
- CGMH saw 183 patients
- GBGH saw 172 patients
- OSMH saw 401 patients
- Southlake saw 1,343 patients
- SMH saw 112 patients
- RVH saw 1,007 patients
- Waypoint saw 60 patients
During council discussion on the matter, Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes noted that public hospitals will likely be relying more on the private sector for funding moving forward.
“It seems to me (we should) be advocating with the government to allow tax deductions for those who donate to hospital programs,” said Hughes. “If the governments allowed higher tax deductions, they might get more donations from the public sector.”
Levac said the alliance is open to looking at all ways to bring more funding in to hospitals.
“We are open to finding all ways to innovate to have the best community hospitals,” he said.
Warden George Cornell said the alliance has helped the county to look jointly at ways to get better outcomes for residents.
“We are proud of the hospitals we do have across the county and the services you provide,” he said.
