Regional mega-hospital gets overwhelming support, MPP says
CBC News
Posted: Dec 7, 2012 7:13 AM ET
Last Updated: Dec 7, 2012 11:24 AM ET
Windsor West Liberal MPP Teresa Piruzza, middle, who is part of the task force, said the report will be reviewed by Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, right, and Health Minister Deb Mathews. (Teresa Piruzza)
A task force created to study the idea of a "mega-hospital" for the Windsor-Essex region will release its final report Friday at 11 a.m.
CBC News has learned the facility is getting overwhelming community and political support.
The task force, comprised of current and former local politicians, is steering clear of calling it a "mega hospital." But members of the group tell CBC News they heard loud and clear during an eight-month consultation process that people favour a new single hospital for the region.
Windsor West Liberal MPP Teresa Piruzza, who is part of the task force, said the report will be reviewed by Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and Health Minister Deb Mathews.
"I have to say, we're one of the only communities that has had this pre-consultation or pre-discussion before a decision was made in terms of what a community was going to do," Piruzza said. "So if anything, I think we're ahead; that we have gathered this much information even before there is consideration."
Piruzza said stakeholders are convinced a new single-site acute-care hospital is needed to serve the region's residents into the future.
"If anything ... it's been a great opportunity to speak to a number of people and to really learn about not only hospital services and hospital programming but also health care in our community," Piruzza said.
The task force also recommends Windsor's two existing hospitals be "reused" in some capacity as part of the health-care system.
The group's mandate did not include finding a site for a proposed new hospital. That would be part of the next step should the government move forward on such a multi-million-dollar project.
Share Tools
Latest Windsor News Headlines
- Geese threatening Windsor airport safety trucked to beach
- Hundreds of Canada geese threatening the safety of Windsor airport were herded into a horse trailer Wednesday and relocated from the city to Holiday Beach in Amherstburg. more »
- Twitter taught in Grade 1 class in Windsor, Ont.
- A teacher in Windsor, Ont., is teaching her first and second grade students to tweet, blog and Skype as part of the elementary curriculum. more »
- Jimmy Hoffa search near Detroit called off by FBI
- The excavation of a rural field in suburban Detroit has failed to turn up the remains of former Teamsters union leader Jimmy Hoffa, the FBI announced Wednesday, adding another unsuccessful chapter to a nearly 40-year-old mystery. more »
- Canadian border agents being impersonated in phone scam
- The Canada Border Services Agency is warning Canadians of a possible phone scam and fraud. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Obesity now recognized as a disease
- The American Medical Association has voted to recognize obesity as a disease, while doctors in Canada say they also treat it as such. more »
- B.C. First Nation sets fires to save bison
- A First Nation band is reviving the age-old practice of controlled burning in order to improve the health of forests and restore the population of the wood bison in a corner of northeastern B.C. more »
- 1 in 8 bird species threatened with extinction
- One in eight bird species worldwide faces the threat of extinction, according to a report released by Birdlife International. more »
- Canada buys rare War of 1812 collection for $573K
- The government of Canada was the winning bidder for a large collection of letters, maps and other papers that once belonged to Sir John Sherbrooke, the lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia who conquered Maine for the British during the War of 1812. The collection sold for $573,000 at auction in London. more »
- Canadian border agents being impersonated in phone scam
- Jimmy Hoffa search near Detroit called off by FBI
- Windsor councillors want Detroit to keep the noise down
- Twitter taught in Grade 1 class in Windsor, Ont.
- Transport Canada orders 8 Ontario wind turbines removed
- Geese threatening Windsor airport safety trucked to beach
- University of Windsor unveils new master plan
- Public school changes boundaries, upsets parents
- FBI widens search for Hoffa remains in Michigan

