Public meeting slated for Jan. 23 regarding closure of Restorative Care Unit at Chesley hospital

The South Bruce Grey Health Centre's board of directors is inviting the community to an open meeting, Friday, Jan. 23, at the Elmwood Community Centre, regarding the closure of the Restorative Care Unit at the Chesley hospital in May, 2015.
Since announcing the closure in early December, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, the South West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and the health centre have received a tremendous amount of feedback from the public emphasizing the importance of this program to the community.
The unit opened in November, 2011, supported by one‐time start‐up funding from the South West LHIN, in response to a high percentage of hospitalized patients in Grey and Bruce counties waiting in acute care beds for placement in the community. The focus of the trial 10-bed unit has been to help patients regain their independence after the acute phase of an illness with the expectation that they will be able to return home.
The board made the decision to close the unit as it is unfunded, costing the organization about $800,000 annually to run, and new provincial programs have been introduced in recent years to care for a similar patient population.
Due to the interest in the community around this program, the health centre announced in a press release, Thursday, that it has arranged a public meeting to discuss the program further with its stakeholders. The meeting will be held at the Elmwood Community Centre, Friday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m.
Board chairman John Haggarty has stated that referrals to the program will continue to be accepted beyond the original cut‐off date of Jan. 1, 2015 while the board works through options for the program with the LHIN and other area health providers.