The Windsor Hospitals Study Task Force completed its mandate to gather opinion from the local community regarding the proposal for a new, single site acute care hospital incorporated within an integrated healthcare system to better serve the region’s residents into the future.

The committee’s public engagement process involved numerous conversations with community agencies and local health care experts, including board members, senior administrators, physicians and  labour representatives from both Windsor Regional Hospital and Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital. Open houses were held in Windsor and in Essex for the general public and further feedback was received through www.windsorhospitalsstudy.com.

Click here to download the Final Report

Community information sessions

WHAT: The Windsor Hospitals Study Task Force is holding two “open house” sessions where the public can ask questions about the future of acute care health services in Windsor-Essex.

WHERE AND WHEN: The open houses will be held:

• Wednesday, October 24th from 6:30 – 8:30pm in room C at the Essex Civic Centre
• Thursday, October 25th from 5:30 – 7:30 at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts in Downtown Windsor.

WHO: The events will be hosted by the three task force co-chairs:

• Dave Cooke
• Teresa Piruzza, MPP
• Tom Porter

For more information, call Erin Link at 519-257-5122.

The Windsor Hospitals Study continues to gather opinion from the Windsor-Essex community on consideration regarding the prospect of a new, single site acute care hospital which will serve the region‟s residents into the future.

As discussed in the initial consultation paper issued in July, the committee‟s initial round of public engagement has involved conversations with local health care experts, including board members, senior administrators, physicians and labour representatives from both Windsor Regional Hospital and Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital. Further discussions are planned through September and into early October, when updated presentations to the public in an open format will be held. Details of these broader public opportunities will be finalized soon.

Resources

• Windsor Hospitals Study Task Force Interim Report – October 10 2012

On April 21^st, 2012, the Hon. Dwight Duncan, Deputy Premier of Ontario and Member of Provincial Parliament for Windsor-Tecumseh, announced the need to consult the public on the future of where hospital services are provided in the Windsor-Essex region. Specifically, Minister Duncan proposed that consideration be given to a new, single site acute care hospital to serve the region’s residents into the future.

The task force recognizes the importance of engaging the residents of Windsor-Essex in this vital discussion – as a region, this is our health care system, and our voices need to be heard in terms of how that system is shaped.

In order for residents to be in a position to make a truly informed opinion on the future of our acute care needs, the committee will first seek input from local health care experts and community stakeholders to answer the following questions:

• Would a new, single site acute care hospital improve the delivery of acute care services in Windsor-Essex?
• Would a new single site acute care facility provide good value for money?
• If there is community support for a new hospital, what other considerations must be addressed during subsequent planning phases?

Feedback from these questions will provide a basis for feedback from the community at large. Input in this discussion cannot be understated. The consultation process provides a unique opportunity for residents to help shape what our health care system will look like for decades to come.

In spite of expansions over the last 10 years, it has been stated that the existing acute care sites might not be able to develop in ways that will be required to adequately serve our citizenry over the next decades, nor be able to be maintained without large amounts of money – thus, the need to consider the next steps in Windsor hospital development.

History has taught us that to be successful, this consultation process must find ways to continue to respect the hard work, characteristics and cultures that have led our hospitals to where they are today while at the same time addressing the best interests of our entire community.  To accomplish this, the consultation process is intended to identify what hospital care will be required in the future and what challenges must be addressed to enable the community to support its development.

Resources

• Consultation Paper – Windsor Hospitals Study