On January 24, UCPR council confirmed it is providing multi-year funding to the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital (HGH) Foundation, but mayors raised questions about if the regional government should be financially supporting the hospital.
In September 2023, the HGH foundation requested the UCPR provide $200,000 or $50,000 per year for four years to its $7 million fundraising campaign to acquire new equipment for macular degeneration treatment, kidney stone treatment, and 3D mammography. The first $50,000 contribution was included in the 2024 UCPR budget but the UCPR did not determine if the funding would continue at $50,000 each in 2025, 2026, and 2027.
Clarence-Rockland Mayor Mario Zanth said he had a “good discussion” with HGH Foundation Executive Director Tabakman, and requested further information on how many Quebec residents use HGH, and asked if the HGH foundation has requested funding from neighbouring municipalité régionale de comté (MRC) regional governments in Québec. Zanth did not provide exact figures to UCPR council about how many Québec residents are using HGH, but he said “It’s pretty 50-50.”
Zanth continued and said about 45 per cent of donors to the HGH Foundation are from Québec, but the majority of overnight stays at HGH are Ontario residents. He said HGH generally provides immediate attention to stabilizing the medical needs of Québec residents and then refers them to other health care facilities in Québec.
Zanth said he would like to see the funding from the UCPR to the HGH Foundation refocused and expressed a dislike for multi-year funding requests due to the difficulty of predicting future budgetary needs. He suggested UCPR’s multi-year support for the HGH Foundation be contingent on if any of the MRC’s agree to contribute.
“I would be really interested to see what they can get on the Québec side before we make a decision on multi-year,” remarked Zanth.
Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Lefebvre cautioned that the HGH Foundation statistics are based on programs and services related to the equipment needs associated with the fundraising campaign. Lefebvre said the UCPR funding commitment should be made based on those needs.
“We’re about providing roads and those kinds of services. I’m not sure funding hospitals is part of the mandate of what we’re about,” commented The Nation Mayor Francis Brière.
He said the provincial government should be funding hospitals.
Briere noted many residents of The Nation and Russell Township use the hospital in Winchester, but the UCPR does not contribute financially to that facility.
“We don’t give them a cent,” he said.
Brière said many UCPR residents also use Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria, but the UCPR does not provide it with financial support either. He is concerned that providing financial assistance to one hospital could set a precedent for providing support to additional facilities.
Champlain Township Mayor Normand Riopel said he would support the multi-year funding motion based on the equipment needs demonstrated in the presentation previously given to council.
Lefebvre described the UCPR’s commitment as a moral obligation based on the previous request.
Casselman Mayor Geneviève Lajoie agreed and said the commitment should be honoured but different options should be considered for future multi-year funding requests.
