Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini says a major key to beating COVID-19 is making general improvements in local hospitals.
Piccini spoke to Quinte News about the year to come and the best way for residents to get through the pandemic, as vaccines start to roll out.
He says residents in Northumberland County are seeing those hospital-related investments first hand, with the Northumberland Hills Hospital seeing its largest ever year-over-year increase in funding.
“It means their inpatient units have been split up. It means the nurses who told me they’ve been walking around the hospital just to decompress now have more a little more stability and flexibility. They’ve hired more nurses and really been able to deliver that high quality of care to residents.”
Piccini says investments made into community care including new programs for paramedics and at home care will pay dividends down the road through a better, more connected, health care system.
He’s also hoping for an economic rebound in the coming year, with provincial investments to support residents and businesses, leading to a financial bounce back in 2021.
Piccini says that once it’s safe to do so, attracting tourists back to the region will be a big key in rebuilding the local economy.
“Let’s get people out exploring Ontario. It’s a beautiful province and there’s so much to do and see. I’m looking forward to folks from all over Ontario to benefit from that and to come and explore Northumberland, the Quinte Region, The County, I think that’s going to be really exciting.”
Among his other priorities for the new year, Piccini also wants to see more done to standardize the recycling process province-wide, to divert more waste away from landfills.
