Hospital name causes division
Residents and politicians are split on West Niagara and West Lincoln options
West Niagara or West Lincoln?
A difference of opinion over the name of the new hospital in Grimsby has divided residents and politicians.
The Town of Lincoln narrowly decided in a special meeting it wants to keep the current name, West Lincoln Memorial Hospital.
At the May 8 meeting, councillors voted 4-3 to endorse the results of a community survey where most respondents wanted to maintain the existing name when the new hospital in Grimsby opens around the middle of next year.
On the other hand, Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton and West Lincoln Mayor Cheryl Ganann, as well as Niagara Region Chair Jim Bradley, have asked Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), which operates the health-care site, to name the new hospital West Niagara Memorial Hospital.
The HHS board is expected to make a decision on a name for the new hospital by the end of this month.
Of the 459 people who took part in the mostly online survey, 82 per cent said they did not favour changing the name of the facility.
Respondents included 390 from Lincoln, 41 from Grimsby, 25 from West Lincoln and one each from Dunnville, Pelham and Stoney Creek.
Liliana Busnello, Lincoln’s manager of corporate communications, told councillors that statistically, the input would not necessarily represent a scientific survey.
The west Niagara municipalities, region and community fundraising efforts have garnered nearly $50 million for the $200-million project.
“We knew that as a region, we had well exceeded the $20 million (for hospital naming rights) and so we had the right to apply and have that name reflect the whole story,” said Easton, who noted she has a personal and emotional attachment to the hospital both as a nurse and as a patient.
“When I was 11, I spent almost two months in that hospital,” Easton said. “I had rheumatic fever.”
In a presentation to council, Lincoln chief administrative officer Mike Kirkopoulos noted the name of the hospital can be traced back to days when Niagara was divided into Lincoln and Welland counties.
“When you look at what is considered the west side of Lincoln County being Grimsby, that’s how West Lincoln Memorial Hospital came to be,” Kirkopoulos said.
“The redevelopment of the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital facility makes for an opportune time to explore the idea of this name change (to West Niagara). The proposed name aims to better represent the broader community the hospital serves and the geographical location of the hospital.”
Kevin Antonides, chair of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital Foundation (WLMHF), said the group also backs the new name.
“The foundation is very supportive of the proposed new name,” he said, adding it has also made Hamilton Health aware of that support.
Antonides said the new hospital will contain a donor wall, video screen and other displays to honour the history of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital.
Ward 4 Coun. Lynn Timmers asked what will happen in the future if another large benefactor comes forward with a donation and wants naming rights to the hospital.
Antonides said the foundation has a naming policy that has been endorsed by Hamilton Health Sciences.
“It’s $20 million for the building and various levels for other parts of the building,” Antonides said.
Ward 2 Coun. John Pachereva quoted a classic play.
“What’s in a name; that which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet,” Pachereva said. “William Shakespeare used this line in his play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to convey that the naming of things is irrelevant. We should be focusing on big-picture things. Change is hard, but change is inevitable.”
Andrew Smith, chair of WLMHF’s Take it to the Finish fundraising campaign, said the community has always supported the hospital.
“(In) 1996, the hospital was threatened to be closed, this community saved the hospital at that stage; (in) 2012, the hospital at that time again was threatened to be closed and this community stepped up and saved the hospital,” Smith said. “I am certainly supportive of the hospital renaming.”
Meanwhile, at a special meeting on May 9, Grimsby councillors voted 8-0 in support of keeping the current name on the new hospital.
“You can’t change history,” said Ward 1 Coun. Reg Freake.
“The West Lincoln Memorial Hospital name has been written into every document, every history book, every news article since its inception; I don’t know why we’re making such a huge effort to try and come up with another name.”
Ward 1 Coun. Delight Davoli, who served on the hospital board in the 1980s, said the facility has deep ties to the community.
“We all have a history with (the hospital) from children born there, emergencies we went to, fundraising campaigns,” Davoli said.
Town staff told councillors that a survey via Let’s Talk Grimsby resulted in 82.9 per cent of respondents voting against the proposed name change. The survey drew 1,687 responses, 1,280.
“I support the survey results as I recognize they are the voices of our passionate community,” said Grimsby Mayor Jeff Jordan.