Statement from Central Algoma Health Care Committee

NEWS RELEASE

CENTRAL ALGOMA HEALTH CARE COMMITTEE

************************* HILTON BEACH - The Central Algoma Health Care Committee wishes to clarify any confusion over its role and mandate.

The Central Algoma Health Care Committee was formed in March of 2009 as a volunteer organization with the mission of improving the health care of area residents.

The committee’s immediate objective is to save the Matthews Memorial Hospital and enhance its existing services.

It has been endorsed by 11 of the 12 member participating municipalities as the official spokesman to save Matthews Memorial Hospital

The committee consists of a steering committee made up of representatives from each municipality, the chairs of four subcommittees and the chair of the Matthews Memorial Hospital Association.

The subcommittee members like the steering committee are all volunteers.

The subcommittees were organized to do public relations, research integrated health care possibilities, alternative forms of health care delivery and the economic and social impacts that the proposed closure of the Matthews Memorial Hospital would cause.

In total there are approximately 75 volunteers in this grassroots organization.

In addition many businesses have thrown their support behind the effort.

To date the committee, largely through its public relations efforts and the swell of grassroots support, has been able to defer any decision on Matthews Memorial Hospital for what we have been told is eight to 12 months.

The committee views this delay as a positive step as it will allow us to complete our research and prepare our arguments on why the Matthews should be kept open.

The committee does not believe that at this time it would be in the community's best interests to pursue an independent stand-alone hospital for the area.

The committee felt that its limited resources would be better spent on the primary objective of saving Matthews Memorial Hospital.

The committee also felt that making a stand-alone hospital its primary objective would be creating unrealistic expectations about the possibility of a stand-alone independent hospital.

This is not to say that as part of its research into alternative forms of health care delivery that some preliminary investigation on this topic won’t be done.

Early in its existence the committee agreed that in order to preserve its independence it would not align itself with any political party, union or lobby group.

While we respect the work of the Ontario Health Coalition we want to make it clear to all the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie and area that we are not aligned or associated in any way with this organization or any other union, lobby or political group.

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