Hastings County has joined the campaign to keep the local public health unit in an eastern Ontario merger, rather than a western one proposed by the province.
In his letter to Minister of Health and Long Term Care Christine Elliott, which was approved by county council Thursday, Warden Rick Phillips notes that the proposed boundaries for the public heath units “concerns us deeply.”
Phillips says that the county’s “needs do not align with those of Durham region.
He points out the local “enhanced medical care needs are referred to the Kingston area.”
The warden was alluding to the provincial budget cuts and possible merger of ambulance services as well.
The letter continues, “While we recognize the Province of Ontario’s need to implement sustainable public health system for all Ontarians, we strongly believe Hastings Prince Edward Pubic Health (HPEPH) will be best served if they remain in an eastern Ontario region where similar geography, demographics and partnerships already exist as they do with Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health and Leeds and Grenville.
It also states, “Residents serviced by HPEPH are mainly rural and their unique needs will be lost if amalgamated with a large urban centre with vastly different health needs.”
