The CEO of Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville, Stacey Daub, came before Erin council on Aug. 14 to ask for help raising funds. Daub said the hospital, built over 100 years ago, was designed to accommodate 23,000 patients a year in its emergency wing; it is currently accommodating 45,000 a year.
“Many people don’t know that hospitals don’t get any funding other than for salaries, drugs and so on. All of our other equipment down to our most basic things like the hospital bed, those are all locally fundraised,” she said.
Daub added that the hospital is looking for two things from the Town of Erin: one, that the town encourage its community to participate in the future planning of the hospital, and two, that the town help write letters of advocacy to the local MPP and the Health Minister for fair and equitable funding.
“Medium sized hospitals like Headwaters… their funding is eroding year over year. We just simply can’t compete with places like Lakeridge in Oshawa or [the hospital] in Brampton.”
Councillors, Sammut, Brennan and Duncan and Mayor Allan Alls, took turns praising the hospital and agreed that the town should lend its support where it can.
Community Improvement
Stantec Consulting planner Stephanie Berkman gave a final presentation to council on the Community Improvement Plan, a series of financial programs to help revitalize businesses in Erin.
The plan will allow the council to offer grants and loans to fund what Berkman called, “any type of physical revitalization.”
Included in the various improvement grants were funds for: façade and signage improvement, downtown housing and public art.
Not all of the grants will be approved every year however. What is offered will depend on what the needs are and how much money is available. The grants provided on any given year will be decided by the Erin council.
Stantec began developing the Community Improvement Plan in October of 2017. Since then, Stantec has given several presentations to council, as well as providing stakeholder workshops, and public open houses. The company will be looking for the council’s approval of the plan at the Sept. 4 council meeting.
