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Two sister cities and healthcare

EDC to seek exchange of goods, services between SAH, War Memorial Hospital
May032016EDC
Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation board of directors. David Helwig/SooToday

The Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation will investigate the possibility of cross-border healthcare initiatives for Sault Area Hospital (SAH) and its Sault, Michigan counterparts, as well as developing a "manufacturing consortium" with the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce.

"These ideas are very much in their infancy stages," said Tom Dodds, EDC CEO, speaking to SooToday Friday.

Regardless, Dodds offered a glimpse or two of what these initiatives might look like.

"We signed a sister-city agreement called 'two nations, one city' between the two economic development organizations," Dodds said.

"At War Memorial Hospital they have things we don't have and vice versa…sometimes a doctor here will say you've got to get a certain type of diagnostic imaging and people will have to go to Sudbury or Toronto to get it when it's available on the other side of the river."

"It also seems crazy to me to have somebody in Sault, Michigan to have to drive to Petoskey or Detroit to get some work done that we could do here in Sault, Ontario," Dodds said.

"From an economic standpoint we can market ourselves as having greater capabilities in the healthcare sector because of our relationship with the community and the hospital across the river."   

"Because we're working in two different types of healthcare systems, we'll look at 'how can we make that work?'"

Dodds said discussions are just beginning on the healthcare initiative, but added "stay tuned."

SAH officials were not immediately available for comment.

What of the "manufacturing consortium?"

"If we can bring those people together who make anything from filters to forestry products, we have to ask is there a way we can market those things and transport those things to market more effectively."

"These are projects to work on, because they involve high-paying jobs" Dodds said.

The healthcare and manufacturing ideas were among several bullet points presented by Dodds to the EDC board of directors at their last meeting, as reported earlier by SooToday.

 


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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