Ontario Providing More Support for Hospitals in Eastern Ontario
Funding will Provide Financial Relief from COVID-19 Costs and Support Patient Care for Three Hospitals in Eastern Ontario
March 17, 2022
BROCKVILLE – The Ontario government is providing $908,982.68 to Brockville General Hospital, $353,213.00 to Kemptville District Hospital, and $894,675.00, to Perth & Smiths Falls District Hospital as part of its $572.3 million investment to reimburse hospitals across the province for their lost revenue during the pandemic in order to provide financial stability and support continued high-quality patient care people need and deserve.
“Our government continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we know that hospitals, and hospital staff, are on the front lines of this effort,” said Steve Clark, MPP Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. “We are proud to support Ontario hospitals so that they can continue to provide the care Ontarians need and deserve, today and in the future.”
This funding is part of the province’s overall investment of over $1.2 billion to help hospitals recover from financial pressures created and worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals have felt financial challenges not only through direct costs, but also through the loss of other forms of revenue such as co-payments for private rooms and the reduction of retail services, all of which contribute to patient care and support clinical services. To ensure Ontario’s hospitals remain on stable financial footing, the government allocated $572.3 million to hospitals across Ontario to help address these fiscal challenges and reimburse qualifying portions of these losses.
“Ontario’s hospitals have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and our government is using every tool at our disposal to ensure that they are supported,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This funding will help ease the financial pressure on hospitals so that they can continue to provide high-quality care and ensure our health care system is prepared to respond to any scenario.”
Since the start of pandemic, Ontario has worked with its hospital partners to build unprecedented capacity and ensure that Ontarians have access to care. This includes $5.1 billion to add 3,100 beds across the province for a total of approximately 17,000 medical and surgical beds. Through additional investments, the province now has a total of 2,436 adult and paediatric ICU beds.
QUOTES
“Over the course of the pandemic, BGH has lost several important revenue streams, such as parking fees, cafeteria sales, co-payments for private patient rooms and leased spaces. Thank you to the Ministry of Health for their investment of nearly $909,000 to address this gap. Emerging from the pandemic with a balanced budget means BGH remains in good financial health and able to continue to care for our community’s needs, now and into the future.” – Nick Vlacholias, President and CEO Brockville General Hospital
“The Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) is very grateful to Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minster of Health for this funding that recognizes and addresses the financial pressures related to the pandemic. This funding will allow KDH to continue to support our front line staff and physicians who deliver much needed and deserved care to the communities we are privileged to serve. I also want to thank MPP Steve Clark for his unwavering support of our hospital. His continued advocacy on our behalf means so much to us and the people we serve.” – Frank Vassallo, CEO & Board Secretary Kemptville District Hospital
“In these unprecedented times, support for our hospital system has never been greater. This welcomed announcement of support for our hospital is vital and will ensure that we can maintain the high quality of care and service our community deserves.” – Michael Cohen President & CEO Perth and Smith Falls District Hospital
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
MEDIA CONTACT
Erin Merkley
Constituency Assistant
erin.merkley@pc.ola.org