Additional Investment will Help Brant Community Healthcare System Continue to Provide High Quality Care to Patients
NEWS — To help strengthen the financial stability of public hospitals across the province, the Ontario government is providing up to $696.6 million this year to help cover historic working funds deficits of qualifying hospitals, with a focus on small, medium as well as specialty and rehabilitation hospitals. This includes $12,905,000.00 for Brant Community Healthcare System.
“Through the leadership of the new Hospital Board, Dr. David McNeil and the Senior Leadership Team, receiving this funding from Ontario is a testament to the hard work of the frontline healthcare workers, nurses, doctors, specialists, nurse practitioners, support workers, administration and IT staff of the Brant Community Healthcare System,” said Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma. “The resilience and dedication to the community is what sets BCHS apart and I am looking forward to working with them in the future”.
This funding is a part of the over $1.2 billion investment previously announced to help hospitals recover from financial pressures created and worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, while ensuring they can continue providing the high-quality care Ontarians need and deserve. This funding will also help to ensure that Ontario’s hospitals are able to respond to any scenario as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.
Many Ontario hospitals are struggling with annual funding deficits which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. To ensure Ontario’s hospitals remain on stable financial footing at a critical time, the government is allocating this funding to help cover historic working funds deficits for qualifying public hospitals
“Ontario’s hospitals have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and our government is using every tool at our disposal to support them,” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This funding will ensure Ontario’s hospitals can continue to provide high-quality care to all Ontarians and that our hospital system is ready to respond to any scenario this fall.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, Ontario has been working with its hospital partners to create unprecedented capacity and prepare to respond to any scenario. The government remains committed to supporting hospitals so that they can continue to care for Ontarians today and in the future.
“The Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS) is grateful to the Government of Ontario and MPP Wil Bouma for his ongoing support and advocacy of the Brant Community Healthcare System to secure this important investment”, said President and CEO of BCHS. “This investment is critical for the BCHS to progress towards its goal of financial sustainability through the pandemic and beyond.”
QUICK FACTS
- A working funds deficit occurs when an organization’s current liabilities exceed their current assets. All hospitals that had a working funds deficit in 2019-20 qualified for this funding.
- As part of a wider, comprehensive surgical recovery plan to provide patients with the care they need, the Ontario government is investing up to $324 million in new funding to enable Ontario’s hospitals and community health sector to perform more surgeries, MRI and CT scans and procedures, including on evenings and weekends.
- Under the 2021 Budget, Ontario is investing an additional $1.8 billion in the hospital sector in 2021-2022, bringing the total additional investment in hospitals since the start of the pandemic to over $5.1 billion. This includes creating more than 3,100 additional hospital beds to increase capacity and reduce occupancy pressures caused by COVID-19.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Ontario Ramping Up Efforts to Reduce Surgical Wait Times
- Ontario Supporting Hospitals with Additional Funding During COVID-19
- 2021 Budget – Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy
- Improving Health Care in Ontario
- Hallway Health Care: A System Under Strain
- Visit Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine web page to view the latest provincial data and information on COVID-19 vaccines.
- Visit Ontario’s COVID-19 information website to learn more about how the province continues to protect the people of Ontario from the virus.
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For more information, contact MPP Will Bouma at 519-759-0361 or will.bouma@pc.ola.org