Over the past few months, Georgian Bay General Hospital president and CEO Matthew Lawson has been providing presentations to each of the North Simcoe municipal councils, providing a general update on what was accomplished in 2023 and what’s to come for the Midland-based facility.
The presentation was nearly identical for the councils, as Lawson began with an introduction on the strategic plan that involved the health care industry, the community, and focus groups.
“The biggest thing that stood out to us,” said Lawson, “we need to focus on not only the excellent care that the hospital provides, but the uniqueness that we provide in our community – in that it’s a personal journey. And when you’re in your community hospital, you are cared for in a personal manner, and our staff are committed to that.”
Lawson noted that last year: GBGH operated 113 beds “consistently over capacity”; over 40,000 local residents visited the emergency department; and had a record set in summer with over 280 people seen in the emergency department in a 48-hour span. Pressures on capacity and resources are expected to grow as people age and population growth increases, he told the councils.
Utilizing funding through North Simcoe municipalities and the Simcoe County Hospital Alliance, Lawson shared that renovations were made to x-ray rooms, and that a recent C-arm purchase allowed for more surgeries. Similarly, a complex ERCP gall bladder surgery localized to GBGH meant less travel for north Simcoe patients.
He pointed out that 2,200 North Simcoe residents travelled elsewhere for medical services in the last year due to capacity issues.
For the future, Lawson unveiled slides showcasing a 2,500-square-foot addition onto the current GBGH for MRI equipment, a specialty magnetic resonance imaging room requiring full copper shielding to contain the hardware.
“When evaluating cost options for development, it was actually cheaper and faster for the hospital to build an addition to put this on because of the age of our building,” said Lawson, who later added that GBGH was built in 1976 and has reached its end-of-life.
On that note, Lawson revealed slides for a new hospital building to be built on property adjacent to the current hospital, service over 240 beds with four operating rooms, and allow for 70,000 emergency department visits.
He projected 500 new jobs for the hospital, with an additional 200 staff for the hospital’s new mental health program and 50,000-square-foot expansion from the existing emergency department; residents requiring mental health services was four times that of Toronto, said Lawson.
With that revelation came questions regarding housing. Lawson shared that a Housing for Healthcare website had been launched to help connect individuals.
“It is a pressure point,” Lawson told Mayor Bill Gordon at the Midland meeting. “I can speak openly that we’ve had staff members express that they’ve wanted to join GBGH who have been unable to find housing, and that has resulted in them actually choosing to relocate elsewhere.”
When the topic of cost came up, Gordon said: “This project is massive, and will have a significant – hundreds of millions of dollars requirement for local share.” He later added: “I love sitting there, learning from you at these meetings, but I also feel my skin crawling – I don’t know where that money is going to come from, from our local ratepayers.”
In response, Lawson stated: “These are not wants. I have to remind people this is purely based on aging and growth of our communities, and what will be required to meet today’s level of care.”
After the Penetanguishene presentation, Mayor Doug Rawson thanked Lawson and all GBGH staff and volunteers, noting that everyone in the community was impacted by the work of the hospital. “A strong community is a healthy community, and relies on the tremendous service that’s done by the hospital,” Rawson said.
In Tay Township, Deputy Mayor Barry Norris thanked Lawson for the presentation. “It’s amazing to see the number of people that we actually deal with today compared to 20 years ago. The MRI machine will definitely be a major plus along with the mental health (aspect).”
Tiny Township’s presentation was followed with a thank you from Coun. Kelly Helowka, who also appreciated Lawson’s efforts, as well as all involved with GBGH. “We’re all getting older – there’s no doubt about that – and this is an aging population for sure,” said Helowka. “We really appreciate all you’re doing, and we hope you’re truly successful with your new build.”
Lawson recently spoke to MidlandToday, as can be read in the January 12 article, 'Demand for mental-health services only going to grow': GBGH CEO'.
Archives of the presentations from the Georgian Bay General Hospital to the councils can be found on the YouTube channels of their respective municipalities, with the GBGH slideshow presentations available on their council agenda pages respectively.
