October 17, 2016
— On Friday October 14, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Eric Hoskins, issued an integration order, stating that the Birchmount and General sites of The Scarborough Hospital and the Centenary site of Rouge Valley Health System will be operated by a single, new hospital corporation. The Ajax and Pickering site of Rouge Valley Health System will be operated by Lakeridge Health. The order endorses the decisions of all three hospital Boards in favour of the integrations and follows the advice of the Central East LHIN.
The Minister’s integration order starts a 30-day notice period, during which time community members can make submissions to the Minister about the integrations. The hospitals will continue to engage the public in a discussion about the integrations, while also looking at the future of health care delivery in each region. The hospitals will be organizing other public engagement opportunities in the coming weeks to provide feedback to the Ministry about the integrations. In addition, community members can continue to provide their input through the interactive, multilingual website – www.ourhospitals.ca.
It is expected the Minister will issue a final order to the hospitals to complete the integrations no later than December 1, 2016. The decision paves the way for improved hospital infrastructure and the planning of new acute care facilities in both communities.
"Minister Hoskins’ approval of the hospital integrations is welcome. It provides clarity of direction and reassurance that the recommendations of the Scarborough/West Durham Expert Panel will be carried out in a timely way," said Janet Dalicandro, Board Chair, The Scarborough Hospital Board of Directors. "We’re thankful for the Minister’s support of our work, and the support of the Central East LHIN, as we work to build integrated hospitals systems for the communities of Scarborough and Durham."
"These integrations will enable planning of integrated systems of care that reflect the needs and diversity of the communities they serve" said Fred Clifford, Board Chair, Rouge Valley Health System Board of Directors. "This also allows us to streamline our planning processes, focusing on outcomes for our patients and their families."
"We’re ready to engage stakeholders across the regions to plan for growth and improved services in Durham and Scarborough— and we’re excited about the opportunities ahead of us to do this," said Valentine Lovekin, Board Chair, Lakeridge Health.
Media Contacts:
Lloyd Rang
Senior Director, Communications
Lakeridge Health
905-576-8711, ext. 4360
lrang@lakeridgehealth.on.ca
www.lakeridgehealth.on.ca
Leigh Duncan
Director of Government Relations and Communications
Rouge Valley Health System
416-284-8131, ext. 4010
leduncan@rougevalley.ca
www.rougevalley.ca
Holly-Ann Campbell
Director, Communications and Engagement
The Scarborough Hospital
416-438-2911, ext. 8308
hocampbell@tsh.to
www.tsh.to
