County councillors here voted to provide Guelph General Hospital with a cash grant of $91,373 for a magnetic resonance imaging machine – and renovations.
That last part of the motion is important, because councillors appeared to agree that the cash support is “on the line” when it comes to following the county’s policy for hospital donations.
In the past, the county has donated for “bricks and mortar.”
The hospital made the request, which includes support for renovations for its emergency mental health services.
Councillor Lynda White questioned the donation.
She said she is a proponent of helping county hospitals such as Groves, but “this request has come forward for an MRI scanner. Has this been approved through our procedural policy?”
Finance committee chairman Mike Broomhead conceded, “It’s a grey area. We’ve always said, ‘bricks and mortar’.”
He added that the committee felt the request is “right on the borderline.”
Warden John Green said the donation to Guelph “goes in line with other things we’ve paid for before. It’s not outside walls – it’s interior. The formula we’ve arrived at was from policy.”
White said she was simply wondering if there had been changes to the county’s policy about funding hospitals.
Broomhead assured her that the hospital work includes “moving walls and changing things around.”
He added that he entire committee was present and discussed the issue before supporting the donation.
