Dozens of residents attended the planning meeting for the single-site acute care hospital for Windsor and Essex County.

The meeting, held in Kingsville, gave residents a chance to ask questions of top planning officials and raise concerns.

A decision on the new site for the facility is expected to be made in June.

There have been about 20 of these meetings to date, but this one was different because of who was there as well as the type of concerns raised by the residents in attendance.

Many residents were concerned how the new hospital will affect Leamington District Memorial Hospital.

They seemed pleased with the answer – officials say nothing is happening with Leamington as a result of the new hospital.

“I also say that won't happen,” says CEO of the Erie St. Clair LHIN Gary Switzer. “What's actually happened over the last while is services have actually come to Leamington, for example orthopedic services. We also have plastic surgeons coming through Leamington."

 

The potential of losing a service in Leamington, the Obstetrics Unit, is still a concern for many of the residents. An expert panel appointed by the LHIN board is currently reviewing the closure recommendation.

There have been about 20 community meetings to date this is the first time Switzer has been in attendance.

“Because we're at the stage now where I can talk about the capacity planning for the community,” says Switzer. “An essential part of this, you can't build a new hospital without understanding what you're going to have in the community."

Many members of Essex County council were also in attendance. Windsor Regional Hospital CEO David Musyj says he was shocked when the county recently announced it would dedicate $350,000 to the project.

The committee is hoping for similar show of support from the City of Windsor.

“Mayor Dilkens has reached out and asked that we do a presentation,” says Musyj. “The date and time is to be determined, for the residents of the city of Windsor, so they are behind this project."

The location of the future hospital is still not decided, but so far 20 applicants have come forward.

The planning committee hopes to have narrowed down the list to five by the end of this month.