District Chair Shares Progress On MAHC Redevelopment And New ALC Housing Working Group

“A few weeks ago, District Council endorsed by motion the work I’ve been doing to assist with the capital redevelopment plans for Muskoka Algonquin Health Care. For many months, I’ve been speaking with hospital staff and members of the Board, physicians from both north and south Muskoka, and community representatives from all parts of the District. I’m more convinced than ever of the importance of the project, the need for the service model to evolve to meet the needs of the future, and that the current differences of opinion in Muskoka are not impossible to overcome – although flexibility is needed by all. MAHC has invited me to join the working groups they have formed on three of the most contentious issues, and they continue to work to improve their plan. I’ve listened and learned a lot and will continue to listen and learn as we work.

One immediate step I’ve taken is to form an ALC Housing Working Group, consisting of MAHC, the Muskoka and Area Ontario Health Team, and the District. As many know, about 30% of patients at both hospitals currently are “ALC”, which stands for “Alternate Level of Care”. These are patients who should be living in another type of care facility, or at home, but can’t leave hospital because there isn’t space available in care facilities, the services and supports they need are not available at home, they can’t find the type of housing they need, or they can’t afford to leave hospital – or all of the above. This problem is a failing of the broader health care system, but is particularly severe in Muskoka. This isn’t good for the hospital, for taxpayers, and most of all for the patients themselves. The need for ALC capacity is something everyone recognizes, including health care leaders and community groups.

With MAHC planning two new hospitals and the District planning new housing, now is our chance to do something about it. The goal of the ALC working group will be to come alongside the MAHC hospital planning project with our own joint effort to find, build, and create community solutions to the current ALC capacity concerns across our region in the coming years. More affordable spaces in assisted living buildings, long-term care facilities, and other care environments, means more people can have the care they need in their own communities. It also can free up space in our hospitals to deliver emergency and acute care. It’s a big task, but we have some time as the hospital project will take many years to plan and build.

The working group met for the first time on August 6th and is already reaching out beyond Muskoka to experts and other communities for their best examples of how to tackle this issue. And we’ve started looking at potential projects across Muskoka that can help create ALC capacity both now and in the future. My goal is that together with the hospital redevelopment, this working group can help plan and build a health care system that provides more capacity in both south and north Muskoka, in the type of care environments we need.

I’ll be reporting to District Council and the community through periodic updates and my monthly
Chair’s reports. As someone relatively new to all of this, I’m impressed by the depth of experience and spirit of collaboration that health care leaders are bringing to this. Everyone genuinely wants to improve the system and build better health care for Muskoka, even if they don’t always agree. We can get good things done here if we keep our eyes on the goal.”

Jeff Lehman,
Muskoka District Chair