MAHC release details on current plans for future hospitals
Last Friday, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) announced updates to their current proposal for the new hospital developments in Bracebridge and Huntsville.
The MAHC say the highlights of the new developments will result in:
- Both hospitals will significantly increase in size, with an estimated 80% growth in square footage.
- Emergency departments will be expanded substantially in terms of treatment spaces available, featuring enhanced mental health care facilities, and the benefit of much more treatment space for slightly higher volumes.
- Introduction of specialized clinics for women’s health and seniors' health.
- Dramatic improvements in diagnostic imaging and procedural capabilities.
- A Level 3 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) will be established.
The MAHC says Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients will be handled exclusively at the Huntsville site. There will be an increase of 34 acute care beds, a massive increase in patient care areas. With the latest changes, up to 95% of acute care patients will receive treatment and admission at the hospital nearest to them.
The new hospitals will specialize in different services so that as a whole the region actually has more and better services. The model offers major improvements over our current hospital sites for quality of care, with large benefits of more specialized and expanded services. These improvements also pave the way for enhanced recruitment, as we seek to attract more physicians, nurses, and other allied health and support team members to our communities.
The Latest Model for MAHC Site Redevelopment - what’s Included at each hospital:
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Bracebridge Hospital |
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Vision: an expanded, fully functional, new hospital with expanded capabilities over the current model, and the region’s home for cancer care, specialty clinics, and much more. |
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Bracebridge Hospital Today |
Future State |
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2 Operating Rooms 1 Endoscopy Suite 1 Urology Room |
2 Operating Rooms 2 Endoscopy Suites 1 Therapeutic Endoscopy Suite 2 Procedure Rooms 1 Surgical Clinic Medical Day Clinic |
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Inpatient Care: 67 beds Average # occupied by ALC patients: 28 and 10-15 additional patients at risk for ALC
Please note all ALC and ALC risk patients would be addressed at Huntsville in the new hospitals |
Inpatient Care: Total 36 beds Average # occupied by ALC patients: 0 Beds include: 32 Medical/Surgical Includes 1 Obstetrics bed + supports Also 4 Level 2 ICU beds |
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11 Emergency Room bays 22,000 Emergency visits
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27 Emergency Room bays, with enhanced mental health capacity 24,000 Emergency visits
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36,800 Diagnostic Imaging Procedures 0 Chemotherapy Visits 3,900 Surgical/Procedural Visits -General Surgery -Plastics -Gynaecology -Urology
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89,500 Diagnostic Imaging Procedures 11,000 Chemotherapy Visits 9,700 Scheduled Surgical/Procedural Visits -General Surgery -Plastics -Gynaecology -Urology -Cataracts -Ear, Nose and Throat -On-Call Emergency surgeries (incl. C-sections)+ -Orthopaedic Joint Replacements+
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Huntsville Hospital |
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Vision: also an expanded, fully functional new hospital, and the region’s home for more highly acute and complex patients, as well as patients awaiting recovery and treatment in other settings (ALC patients). |
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Huntsville Hospital Today |
Future State |
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Inpatient Care: 56 beds -38 Medical/Surgical -10 Rehabilitation -6 Level 2 ICU -2 Obstetrics |
Inpatient Care: Total 121 beds -58 Medical/Surgical -37 Reactivation -14 Acute Rehabilitation -10 Level 3 ICU -2 Obstetrics + 1 procedure/ assessment room
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16 Emergency Room bays, with enhanced mental health capacity 21,500 Emergency visits
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27 Emergency Room bays, with enhanced mental health capacity 24,500 Emergency visits (FY 2031-32)
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2 Operating Rooms |
2 Operating Rooms |
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41,000 Diagnostic Imaging Procedures
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29,000 Diagnostic Imaging Procedures 4,600 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRIs)
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3,500 Dialysis Visits
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4,500 Dialysis Visits
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4,400 Surgical/Procedural Visits -General Surgery -Cataracts -Ear, Nose and Throat -Minor Orthopaedic Procedures -Plastics
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800 Surgical/Procedural Visits -Surgeries requiring inpatient stay -Same-day scheduled surgeries -On-Call Emergency surgeries |
MAHC say the next steps of engagement and refinement include:
- Their plans will continue to evolve until the submission to the Ontario government, following the required process. The final configuration of the health system will be subject to approval by the government.
- They are continuing engagement with Physicians through each department head (Emergency, Surgery, Obstetrics, etc.) to determine the specific supporting needs to make the model work.
- Healthcare team engagement in the hospital will commence in the next few weeks.
- They will also be engaging partner organizations.
- Broader community engagement is planned to begin before the Summer.
