Should the communities that form the Almaguin Highlands Health Council build a new medical centre?
That’s a question the health council representatives debated Nov. 7 at their regular meeting in Perry.
The debate centred around whether the present medical centre in Burk’s Falls at 150 Huston Street should be renovated or expanded, if an entirely new med centre should be built behind this facility or whether a new health centre should be located in nearby Armour.
Armour Mayor Rod Ward said at the meeting his municipality has agreed to spend $17,000 on a conceptual design of what a 12,000- to 16,000-square-foot health and wellness centre could look like. Greystone Project Management of Huntsville is creating the conceptual design.
Ward expects the final design to be available by the end of January and should include information on what the centre could cost.
The Armour proposal calls for the health and wellness centre to occupy three acres of a 24-acre site the township recently acquired on Peggs Mountain Road, just off the Highway 11 ramp.
It’s the same parcel of land where a new fire hall representing seven surrounding municipalities will sit.
Unlike the present medical centre, which is owned by the Village of Burk’s Falls, Ward says a private sector partner has expressed an interest in building, owning and then leasing the Peggs Mountain Road site. Ward said this would include leasing space to healthcare providers.
After the health council meeting, Ward said, “It’s not private health,” adding he wanted to make sure the public did not interpret this project to mean that health care would suddenly be run by the private sector.
“This (would be) a private sector partner who’s helping us to build a health centre and the space is leased to health care providers like a Family Health Team. So, the private sector owns the building and they lease it.”
The proposed centre would have the same services currently offered, such as X-ray and blood lab work.
However, the concept calls for more services like a technology-supported training centre, a resource and health-focused research library, occupational therapy and physio exercise equipment space, a community kitchen, a hotel-type area to provide temporary accommodations for visiting specialists, a community garden and greenhouse, a walking track and a pharmacy.
Asked if the private sector partner would consider building behind the present medical centre, Ward said no. “That’s their business but they want the (Peggs Mountain Road) site because they feel that’s where the growth is going to be” Ward said.
The health and wellness centre would easily cost millions of dollars and Ward says the federal and provincial governments would be asked to contribute to the project through their FedNor and Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation programs.
Ward added that if senior-level government funding can’t be accessed resulting in a much larger share falling on the municipalities and the private sector partner, “Then maybe it’s not feasible anymore.”
Ward says the medical centre has served the surrounding communities well over the decades but advances and changes in medical technology mean it needs an overhaul and he’s questioning the wisdom of this approach.
“To invest in a building that’s already 75 years old doesn’t really make sense,” he said. “If Armour is going to invest in that building, we’d want a lot more detailed engineering work done around the mechanics of the building. For example, is there asbestos or mould there?”
Additionally, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare currently makes available an X-ray unit; however, Ward says the unit has about two years of life left and it will cost about $1 million to replace plus renovating the room where it is currently situated.
Ward says if a new health centre is built in Armour, then the cost of a new X-ray unit would be factored into the project.
Chris Hope, the mayor of Burk’s Falls, said that without more information, especially the costs of a new build, it’s difficult to make a long-term recommendation of what avenue to pursue regarding a health centre.
But Hope believes Burk’s Falls remains the best site either to build a new facility behind the present health centre or expand or renovate the existing centre.
Hope says that by putting some money into the current site, “We would have a health centre that could last another 20, 25, 30 years, no problem, without having to rebuild.”
Hope said the current location is large enough to accommodate a new building and that the land is already serviced with water and sewer.
“So, building something new or expanding what’s there are both a much easier and less expensive option in Burk’s Falls,” Hope said.
Hope says the Armour proposal creates a logistical problem for Burk’s Falls residents who don’t drive.
He said right now the proximity of the Burk’s Falls medical centre allows residents to walk. But he says relocating health care services outside the Village means a $50 round trip via taxi for those who can’t get someone to drive them there for things like blood work, X-rays or just a visit to their physician.
He says the same scenario exists with picking up prescriptions.
Currently, the village’s only pharmacy sits next to the medical centre.
Hope wonders if the Armour health and wellness centre proposal is pursued, will the Burk’s Falls pharmacy relocate to that site, or will a new pharmacy put it out of business?
Hope says in either instance it means pharmacy trips to the Armour site.
“So, there are repercussions to these decisions,” Hope said.
Hope concedes the pharmacy could deliver prescriptions but then that’s a service cost it would have to absorb.
Hope raised another financial point.
Currently Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare, he said, isn’t charged any rent for housing the X-ray unit and blood lab at the Burk’s Falls site.
However, Hope says since the Armour proposal is designed to be a private-sector enterprise he believes MAHC would have to pay some kind of rent because it’s not reasonable to expect a for-profit business to provide something for free.
Hope also wondered if the health care providers would also face higher rents at the Armour site as opposed to what they currently lease space for in Burk’s Falls.
Hope says if there is ever a time when a new medical centre is built behind the current facility in Burk’s Falls, he’s confident the village can find other uses for the empty building.
At the moment the Burk’s Falls medical centre is strictly owned by the Village.
During the Perry meeting, Hope raised a point he’s brought up in the past which is to have the Almaguin communities share in the building’s ownership.
He says if the municipalities aren’t interested in shared ownership, then perhaps a shared custodianship is a possibility.
Hope says in this situation when the hospital runs into a deficit, the municipalities would step up to help pay off that deficit.
Perry Township Mayor Norm Hofstetter said his municipality is not interested in an ownership model but could see its way toward making a contribution toward the existing medical centre.
He says it took his municipality 10 years to rid itself of old buildings and he doesn’t want Perry to get involved in being part owner of another old building.
Hofstetter says $1 million could be put into the existing centre and it still wouldn’t be enough.
Ward also said Armour is not interested in being part owner of the Burk’s Falls health centre.
Ward is a strong supporter of building in his township because MAHC is redeveloping the hospitals in Huntsville and Bracebridge with new buildings.
Ward says there is an opportunity for new community services in the Almaguin Highlands to be developed in concert with the MAHC development.
The Armour project could begin during 2027 and Ward says this health and wellness centre combined with the MAHC project would provide citizens of the region with modern, state-of-the-art facilities which would serve the community for decades.
Hope believes the Armour proposal will need more clarity before it can move forward and Hofstetter believes everyone has to consider all options before the health council is asked to move on to a final decision.
In addition to Burk’s Falls, Armour and Perry, seven other communities make up the Almaguin Highlands Health Council and they are Ryerson, Kearney, McMurrich/Monteith, Sundridge, Strong, Joly and Magnetawan.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
