Hospital parking fees going up

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT AREA HOSPITAL

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Hospital Parking Rates to Increase

Sault Ste. Marie, ON – Sault Area Hospital (SAH) is advising area residents of an increase in parking rates.

Effective December 30, 2015, the gate rate will increase to $6 per visit and the monthly parking passes will increase to $66.67.

Parking fees will increase for everyone, including staff and physicians.

“Over the past several years, there have been substantial cost increases across all operations of our organization,” says Ron Gagnon, President & CEO. “Hospital funding has changed dramatically, we have not seen increases to our base funding for the last 4 years, and the effects of hospital based inflation continue to have their impact,” he adds.

One of the ways hospitals across Ontario are coping with budgetary restraints is through revenue generation.

“This decision was not made lightly. Parking fees is one of the ways hospitals generate revenue and the reality is that we have to look at all options to financially support quality care,” explains Gagnon.

These new parking rates will put SAH in line with their Northern Ontario counterparts.

“Our parking rates have remained unchanged since 2009 and since then, there have been a number of factors which have affected both our parking lot and overall operations,” says Gagnon.

Discounted monthly passes at a cost of $66.67 are available for patients or visitors who attend the hospital on a regular basis.

Parking cards can be purchased at the Cashier’s Office (level 2, off the lobby entrance) Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To find out more about SAH, please visit us at: www.sah.on.ca