Mega-hospital location a fit for Essex County
If Windsor and Essex County — and the latter I stress — are to receive provincial funding for a proposed mega-hospital, then presumably those responsible for that hospital’s location, design and services require widespread continuing community support.
Such support should, I suggest, reflect the interests of the entire community the hospital will serve.
Clearly, such support may be essential given the apparently limited financial resources of our provincial government. Add to that the possibility that a change of government in the next provincial election in June 2018 might result in an even more frugal governing party, and we have the omnipresent danger of complete abandonment of a much needed and anticipated mega-hospital.
Given my ever-decaying physical condition and age, I do not seriously imagine that I will ever enter the mega-hospital’s doors, even if the sod was turned for the construction tomorrow. (That is distinct from sods being turned for me.)
Nonetheless, as envisioned, the mega-hospital would play a key role for future residents of Windsor and Essex County. I again stress the importance to Essex County, the population of which more or less matches that of the City of Windsor.
It’s true Leamington has both a hospice and hospital. Once known as the Leamington District Memorial Hospital, it recently suffered an entirely forgettable name change to Erie Shores Healthcare. However, Leamington’s hospital and its remarkable staff serve a significant portion of the community. Its catchment area is not the entire county.
If neither Leamington nor Windsor hospitals can accommodate emergency cases, patients can be (and are) taken to Chatham’s hospital. Consider the challenge for seniors when that happens, as it did to a neighbour recently.
The proposed location for the new megahospital near Windsor’s airport is close to being perfect for those who reside in Essex County. True, a better location might have been in Maidstone or Essex Centre, but the proposed site I reckon is acceptable to a large portion of Essex County and Windsor residents. Folks in the county have so far not found a need to launch petitions and protests.
So why are we still listening to nattering from a small group of city residents who want a hospital located at or near their front doors?
It may come as a surprise to some of those with limited sensitivity that elderly people live in the county. They too require medical services. Consider the plight of those in their senior years who must find ways and means to cope with heavy city traffic on Walker Road or Ouellette Avenue to access hospital care.
Arriving by 7:30 a.m. for surgery at the Ouellette campus of Windsor Regional Hospital can require a senior to be up at 4:30 a.m. for the drive into Windsor. There are no buses or even reliable and reasonably priced taxis available for many county residents.
It should be noted that surgery often requires several visits to the hospital before and after the operation, all of which can involve long drives. These can be downright dangerous in the winter. Furthermore — and to this I can attest — as many of our local medical providers are located near existing hospitals, one must make numerous trips to Windsor.
Hopefully, medical practitioners will find the new mega-hospital’s location more conducive to their practices serving residents of both the city and county.
Windsor and Essex County are contributing financial support for the hospital’s planned location. This is an expression of faith in future medical services for all area residents.
For those still sticking signs in their front yards opposing the mega-hospital location, why not assume that your braying will have no consequence and that your community would be much better served if you found a more proximate issue, such as sewer separations or summer outdoor ice hockey arenas?
Why are we still listening to nattering from a small group of city residents?