Nipissing MPP Monique Smith announces $5.4 million in equipment funding for hospitals and nursing homes in North Bay and Mattawa. Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.ca. The North Bay General Hospital will receive $4.
North Bay General Hospital president and CEO Mark Hurst says the funding announcement is "unprecedented." Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.caAdvertisement
Nipissing MPP Monique Smith announces $5.4 million in equipment funding for hospitals and nursing homes in North Bay and Mattawa. Photo by Phil Novak, BayToday.ca.
The North Bay General Hospital will receive $4.2 million from the Ontario Health Ministry to purchase diagnostic and medical equipment, Nipissing MPP Monique Smith announced Wednesday.
Smith said the announcement is part of her government’s total investment of $340 million province wide for equipment.
“We’re investing to provide better, more reliable and faster health care for the residents of Nipissing,” Smith said following the announcement, which was made at the Leisureworld Caregiving Centre.
Smith said the announcement emphasises “the confidence we have in the medical system here in North Bay and that we’re moving forward with the hospital project by investing in equipment that will go in the new facility.”
The Nipissing region receives $5.4 million in all, with $235,000 going to the Mattawa General Hospital; $262,000 to Cassellholme Home for the Aged; $165,000 to Leisureworld; $134,000 to Nipissing Manor; $127,000 to Eastholme Home for the Aged; $81,000 to the Algonquin Nursing Home; and $73,000 to Lady Isabelle Nursing Home.
Patient lifts, X-ray, ultrasound machines and dialyses equipment will be among the purchases, Smith said.
North Bay General Hospital President and CEO Mark Hurst called the announcement “great news.”
“It’s a recognition of the magnitude of the equipment needs we have every year,” Hurst said.
The hospital spends about $2 million every year out of its depreciation allowance, Hurst said, “and defer significant amounts of equipment every year as well.”
“It will benefit our patients now, and it will relieve the pressure on us to acquire equipment for the new facility.”
Last week Smith announced the hospital would be receiving funding for the purchase of a new CT scan unit.
Hurst said that announcement and Wednesday’s were “unprecedented.”
“That’s $6 million in one week. That’s almost three years of purchasing, so it’s great news.”
Smith said the equipment will likely be in place in the hospital by March 31, the end of its fiscal year.
