UXBRIDGE:The Ontario government is helping to fund repairs and upgrades at the Uxbridge Cottage Hospital. On Friday, February 21st, MPP Peter Bethlenfalvy announced the province is providing the local hospital with $1,209,619 through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund.
The government has committed to providing $175 million this year to hospitals across Ontario through this program. “We have to address hallway healthcare, we have to address the long term care needs of the people that built this province,” Mr. Bethlenfalvy said. “This is a great day, and I’m very happy to be here.” Jo-anne Marr, President and CEO of Markham Stouffville Hospital, explained the importance of the local hospital. “For more than 60 years, the Uxbridge hospital has been providing exceptional care to this community and beyond, and while much has changed, and many of you have great stories about how that has occurred, it really is a focal point for residents and the community here for healthcare and social services for our residents and in the surrounding areas,”
Patient Services director, Sandi Lofgren, talked about how the funds are going to help. “The funding will allow us to continue to deliver excellent care to our community,” she shared. “With this funding, we will have a facility with an updated, dependable electrical system. The upgrade includes the development of a redundant electrical line that will provide stability to the Uxbridge site in the event of an external power failure.”
Uxbridge Mayor Dave Barton stressed the importance of everyone coming together to support healthcare services in the community. “We continue to see the province invest in Uxbridge healthcare. We’ve also got our physicians investing in our healthcare in Uxbridge. Together, the team approach to making sure we’ve got quality healthcare for our residents makes me obviously very happy to be the Mayor of this community, and the path to the future build here is looking more promising every day,” he stated.