Planning money

New Picton hospital moves into the queue

After nearly a decade of talking about a new hospital in Picton, the project entered Stage One on Monday. Ontario Minister for Health and Long-Term Care Eric Hoskins came to the County and brought with him a cheque in the amount of $500,000 to fund planning for a new hospital.

The money doesn’t guarantee a new hospital will be built—but it does put this community on track for a new facility. It puts Picton in the queue. Much closer than it has been since the idea was first floated in 2009.

“It’s now time to look into what the County deserves, a new hospital that meets its needs now and for years to come,” said Hoskins to the stuffed hospital meeting room. “That’s why I am pleased to be here today to announce that the Ontario government is providing Quinte Health Care with a planning grant of $500,000 to help definitively plan for the redevelopment of a new Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital.”

The money will be used to refine how a new facility will be used and determine the services and programs it will deliver.

The price tag is currently pegged at about $80 million, of which about $12 million will need to be raised in the community.

QHC chief Mary Clare Egberts assured the gathering her team was committed to building a hospital. “We’re going to have a fullyfledged hospital with 24-7 Emerg we’ll have in-patient beds, we’ll have appropriate diagnostic services as we need them, and there will continue to be endoscopy surgical services,” said Egberts.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry, a new hospital in Picton will skew its services to “better meet the needs of a rapidly aging population with increasing levels of chronic disease, improve the quality and safety of patient care and provide more effective care transitions.”

The project will need financial support from this community, as well as directional guidance to ensure that it serves the broad needs of this dynamic community.