#WEareready
Jan 25, 2016 | News & Updates
It’s this kind of cooperation that will make the new Windsor-Essex Hospitals System a reality. #WEareready
Local leaders united today in a show of support for the proposed new hospital system for Windsor-Essex. As a united group they let the province know that Windsor-Essex is ready to move to the next stage of the process.
The elected officials issued a letter to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to signify a regional commitment to seeing this much-needed capital investment approved for our nearly 400,000 residents of the City and County.
View the letter signed by MPP Taras Natyshak, MPP Percy Hatfield, MPP Lisa Gretzky, Mayor Drew Dilkens and Warden Tom Bain here.
The leaders also launched
#WEareready – a new hashtag that underlines our collective commitment to see this bold new vision for healthcare delivery in Windsor-Essex come to fruition.
NATYSHAK: City, County, and people of all political stripes must now come together and relentlessly push to see this project through to completion. #WEareready
“Our community of Windsor and Essex County is being presented with an historic opportunity to transform and modernize our health care system. An estimated $2 billion investment would not only bring a decades old system into the modern era. This is a once-on-a-lifetime chance to reorient to a forward looking model of health care delivery. This transformation has been underway around the Province of Ontario, and until now Windsor Essex has not only been on the outside looking in, but we have been funding these investments through our taxes for other communities. Through the tremendous effort of numerous individuals and organizations a plan to move forward is now ready to submit to the Ministry. It is time to speak with one voice. City, County, and people of all political stripes must now come together and relentlessly push to see this project through to completion. We are ready! I want to thank the committee and everyone who took the time to provide their input and their passion to the consultations. I look forward to the continued involvement of the public as this project progresses. There are certainly elements that still need to be worked on with respect to accessibility, however, there has been confirmation from both the City and County that this will be addressed during the ongoing planning process. I am confident that with input from across our region we will be able to build a hospital system which will serve us all incredibly well for many years to come.” Taras Natyshak, MPP, Essex
“The future of our health care in this region is just too important to be playing politics about our need for a modern hospital. We need to stand united and speak with one voice. We are at a critical junction and the team that got us to this point in the process need to know we are totally behind their efforts as do the decision-makers in the Health Ministry in Toronto.” Percy Hatfield, MPP, Windsor-Tecumseh
“People living in Windsor Essex deserve access to the high quality, modern medical facilities that this investment will deliver. Fully resourced and staffed healthcare institutions are essential to the success and viability our region. The construction of an urgent care centre at the site of the former Grace Hospital, significant investments at the Ouellette campus and the Tayfour campus, as well as access to modern facilities and the quality care that our dedicated health care professionals provide, is welcome news for Windsor and in particular the residents of Windsor West. By coming together today the city, county and provincial representatives for the region are showing our commitment to working together to move this project forward. At this early stage of the planning process we recognize that there is significant work to be done, ongoing issues to be addressed and continued community consultation to take place. These are all standard and important steps in a capital planning process of this magnitude. Residents of Windsor West can rest assured that I am committed to working with decision makers at all levels of government, to ensure that this transformation of our region’s healthcare system includes affordable transportation access for all residents, as well as access to and availability of our regions healthcare professionals. The ongoing involvement of the community is vital as this process continues to move forward.” Lisa Gretzky, MPP, Windsor West
DILKENS: We are ready to move to stage two and ask the Minister to help us realize this vision. Our residents deserve nothing less. #WEareready
“The City of Windsor and the County of Essex have both made a commitment to a new vision for hospital care in our region. We truly appreciate standing next to our Provincial representatives in unity to move this important project forward. A single site acute care hospital is the cornerstone of the transformation in the delivery of health care in Windsor Essex. We are ready to move to stage two and ask the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care to help us realize this vision. Our residents deserve nothing less.” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens
BAIN: Everywhere I go people want to talk about the new hospital. On behalf of the County of Essex. #WEareready
“In December 2016, our County Council, representing seven municipalities, voted unanimously in favour of a commitment on behalf of residents of the County of Essex towards a local contribution to this vitally important infrastructure project for our region. We recognize the importance of this significant capital investment in modernizing our health care for future generations. We are proud to stand with our partners from the City of Windsor and our provincial representatives in expressing our collective desire to see this new vision for hospital care in our region become reality.” Tom Bain, Warden, Essex County
MUSYJ: It’s time to move forward. Unified. With one voice. #WEareready
“From the start of this planning, some four years ago, we stated the only way we will be able to move this project through to completion is with united regional leadership. Well today I am in honoured to stand with our local City, County and Provincial MPPs showing our unity and making a request to move this project to the important Stage 2 of the capital planning process. We will remember this day and these individuals when this project is approved for construction and eventually completed. We thank them now and will continue to thank them for generations to come. I am truly appreciative to see our elected community leaders coming together today and committing to this future and recognizing that we need to speak as one voice to make this a reality.” David Musyj, President and CEO, Windsor Regional Hospital
“Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare has been a key partner in the planning process that has seen the initial discussion about a new acute care hospital evolve into a plan for a comprehensive, thoughtful and well integrated health system. A highlight is that we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a seamless mental health system – which will absolutely change the lives of many in our community. From the investment at our Tayfour Campus and the proposed mental health anchor programming on Ouellette Avenue to the urgent care centre and state-of-the-art acute care hospital – this proposal ensures high quality healthcare will be available for my children and my grandchildren. I am proud to stand alongside other community leaders who are committed to this future as well and believe that together we will succeed.” Janice Kaffer, President and CEO, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
The “Stage 1B” submission – an early but important stage of the necessary process to complete new hospital infrastructure projects – is under review by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The hospitals are ready to work with the Ministry through this approval stage and move to Stage 2, which would allow additional funds to flow so that we can begin designs and other important technical discussions for the proposed new facilities.
The plan, announced last July, would see the construction of a new, 1.6-million square foot state-of-the-art acute care hospital, an 80,000-square foot Urgent Care Centre built on the former Grace Hospital property, redevelopment at HDGH’s Tayfour Campus, and an exciting opportunity for HDGH to return to Ouellette Ave. to support outpatient mental health services, chronic disease management and a community hub with partner organizations.
A special thanks to our team of Project Ambassadors who joined us for today’s event. Together we can make this happen. #WEareready