The Medical Officer of Health for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health doesn’t anticipate any significant layoffs or decreased funding with the organization’s amalgamation with two other health units.
On Monday, Dr. Ethan Toumishey provided Belleville council with an update on the proposed amalgamation of HPE Public Health with Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Health Unit and Leeds Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit into the South East Health Unit.
All three health units voted in favour of joining earlier this year, and a business case for the merger has been submitted to the provincial government.
Dr. Toumishey says they’ve had some preliminary discussions with the Ministry of Health about the business case.
Approval is expected some time this summer and the merger is proposed to take effect January 1, 2025.
The provincial government is offering one-time funding, resources and supports to smaller public health agencies that agree to merge voluntarily.
Dr. Toumishey says the mergers will focus on efficiency and cost savings within the system.
He says it will also make more services and resources available across the entire region.
“This is an opportunity to look to see how we can reinvest at the local level. How we can find some efficiencies, work together and to improve services.”
The merger transition funding means there won’t be an extra burden on the taxpayer.
Dr. Toumishey expects the Public Health building on North Park Street to remain operating as is.
“Our base budgets are not changing through this as the base budgets, they’re relating to FTs and for the number of people that would be involved there, so I don’t expect that this is going to create a significant job reduction and, as stated, we’re looking for how this can invest in local public health.”
With voluntary mergers, the province’s objective is to ensure public health units have critical mass and capacity to optimize performance, with a minimum population base of 500,000 and consideration for population trends.
