Advancing Health Care in Georgina

Summary

Mayor Margaret Quirk discussed the recent announcement from Southlake Health to seek partners for a new Advanced Care Centre in Georgina. The centre would provide services such as primary care, diagnostics and outpatient clinics, with a potential timeline of one to three years.

While the new Southlake hospital will be built in East Gwillimbury, the Advanced Care Centre is part of a broader, distributed health-care model designed to bring services closer to residents. The Town of Georgina has been working with Southlake and regional partners for the past two years to prepare for expanded local health-care services, including planning, partnerships and fundraising efforts.

Further updates are expected in the coming months as Southlake reviews proposals and advances the project.

Transcript

Dan Pollard 0:00
Joined right now by the Mayor of the Town of Georgina, Margaret Quirk. Good morning.

Mayor Margaret Quirk 0:05
Good morning, Dan. On a bright, sunny morning, it’s perfect.

Dan Pollard 0:08
And it’s a little warmer than it was at the race yesterday.

Mayor Margaret Quirk 0:11
I know, it was a little frosty when we were chatting there yesterday.

Dan Pollard 0:14
Yeah, 1,800 runners. That’s great. Listen, real quick off the top, we were talking to some people about the economic benefit. Karen Stone was there from the Town, and she said people don’t understand the economic benefit. The Briars was packed, the Ramada was packed.

Mayor Margaret Quirk 0:30
I saw runners at the ice cream shop and at different restaurants. Many of them had never been to Georgina before. These are people not just from across Ontario and Canada, but from California, Tennessee and New York State. It really puts us on the map.

I want to thank the organizers for how they’ve grown that marathon from about 400 runners in the first year, just as we were coming out of the pandemic, to over 1,800 now, going head to head with the Toronto Marathon, which was on yesterday as well.

Dan Pollard 1:06
Okay, let’s talk about the big announcement on Friday. Southlake Health announced a request for expressions of interest to find partners to develop an Advanced Care Centre in Georgina. I want to explore what that means and what the difference is between the hospital announcement last week, that the new Southlake hospital would be built in East Gwillimbury, and this Advanced Care Centre.

Mayor Margaret Quirk 1:32
Exactly. They put out the request for expressions of interest for the hospital some months ago. We supported a developer who had a site here in Georgina.

Southlake wanted a location that was far enough away, but not right beside the current hospital. There were proposals in Bradford, East Gwillimbury and Georgina. The selected site was in East Gwillimbury, which is still much closer for our residents to access that acute care hospital with emergency services, surgeries and treatments.

What they’ve also announced is a distributed health-care network. This means building on the hospital system by adding Advanced Care Centres in other areas within their catchment area.

We are the first community to have an expression of interest issued for an Advanced Care Centre. This is similar to how they approached the hospital, looking for developers with land and partnership ideas. That’s why this is exciting news. It builds on the hospital announcement.

Dan Pollard 3:00
But you don’t have a developer at this point?

Mayor Margaret Quirk 3:03
They are very confident. They’ve already been in discussions with a large segment of the development community. This process allows interested developers to come forward and say they have land and want to work with Southlake. That leads to deeper discussions about an Advanced Care Centre here in Georgina.

Dan Pollard 3:31
You mentioned that the Town put its hat in the ring for the hospital. Is there a connection with whoever came forward for that?

Mayor Margaret Quirk 3:44
There could be, but that remains to be seen. It will depend on who responds to the expression of interest.

People have asked if we’re disappointed we didn’t get the hospital. Of course, it would have been wonderful. However, the Advanced Care Centre has a much shorter timeline of one to three years.

The hospital is a much larger project, likely eight to 10 years before opening. So in many ways, we’re in a win-win situation. We could have an Advanced Care Centre here within a few years and still benefit from a nearby hospital in the longer term.

Dan Pollard 4:52
What is the role of the Town of Georgina in all of this?

Mayor Margaret Quirk 5:16
About two years ago, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Southlake and the Northern York Region South Simcoe Health Team. The goal was to develop programs to support health care in Georgina.

We’ve already brought cardiac care and rehabilitation to the MURC, as well as child-focused programs and other services.

On the fundraising side, we’ve been working closely with the Southlake Foundation. Councillor Neeson and I have spent the last two years building relationships with individuals and organizations we’ll approach for support.

The Town has also invested $210,000 into that partnership. A report called Care for All: A Population Health Assessment Supporting Residents in Georgina is coming to Council.

This report looks at demographics and health-care needs and will help shape what goes into the Advanced Care Centre. It will likely include primary care, diagnostics and outpatient clinics, based on community needs.

Dan Pollard 8:10
What kind of timelines are we looking at then?

Mayor Margaret Quirk 8:13
The expression of interest process is moving fairly quickly. Southlake has already engaged with many developers through the hospital process.

Over the next couple of months, we expect to see further announcements. That will include details about the site, the developer and the types of services the building will support, such as MRI, X-ray and CT scans.

Dan Pollard 9:10
So basically, the door is open. Southlake is leading the process and will update you as things progress?

Mayor Margaret Quirk 9:17
Yes. There is a governance committee that includes Town staff, Southlake and the Northern York South Simcoe Health Team.

Southlake is leading the call for proposals, and we will continue to work closely with them as the project develops.

Dan Pollard 9:41
Well, exciting news indeed. We’ll stay in touch as things unfold.

Mayor Margaret Quirk 9:47
Absolutely. There will be more announcements coming.

Dan Pollard 9:49
Enjoy the sunshine today.

Mayor Margaret Quirk 9:51
I will. You too.

Dan Pollard 9:52
That’s Mayor Margaret Quirk of the Town of Georgina speaking about Southlake Health’s new Advanced Care Centre initiative.

“I am thrilled at this monumental step forward in our journey towards expanding health services in Georgina. 

“I am grateful to our partners at Southlake Health and Northern York South Simcoe Ontario Health Team for acknowledging the importance of locating an Advanced Care Centre here in Georgina, and for the commitment they have shown to advance this crucial initiative.

Today's announcement moves us significantly closer to creating a local health and wellness facility right here in OUR community, a facility that will be responsive to the unique needs of Georgina’s residents. 

The RFEI will guide us in the direction of a site and provide further clarity on the timelines for completion of the project. I look forward to broad participation from our community in responding to this initiative. 

Just last year, I joined Southlake’s announcement on the expansion of its Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Program in Georgina, providing leading edge cardiac care closer to home for patients in our community. 

The Advanced Care Centre that we are talking about today will further bolster access to health services in Georgina, ensuring that our residents can benefit from the comfort and convenience of nearby care.

Creating a healthier community for all is a cause we are all passionate about. 

Today’s announcement further illustrates our joint commitment to deliver on this initiative in a meaningful way, within timelines that reflect the growing needs of our community.”

The MOU establishes a commitment to develop health facilities and expand health and wellness programs/services within Georgina and focuses on five areas for collaboration: 

• Health facilities and resources
  • To increase access to care through the development of a new facility, resources and expanded use of existing spaces
• New and expanded health and wellness programs
  • To improve health equity by increasing access to inclusive, evidence-informed programs and services
• Advocacy and community/partner/provider engagement
  • To collaboratively pursue and advocate for support and investments from funders and decision-makers at all levels of government
• Data sharing
  • To inform shared pursuits that leverage each organization’s information and insights, while upholding all applicable privacy requirements
• Research and innovation
  • To explore joint partnerships with academic institutions to bolster research that advances knowledge and standards for leading edge care

The Northern York South Simcoe Ontario Health Team (NYSS OHT) Primary Care Clinic has moved to 443 the Queensway S, Unit 30 and is accepting new patients. In partnership with the Town of Georgina, a Health and Wellness Education Series will run at the MURC, the Link, Pefferlaw Lion’s Hall and online. Topics include aging, mental health, caregiver support, chronic disease and more, ensuring accessible, relevant care information for all residents. 

For dates, times and locations, visit nyssoht.ca/educationsessions.

• Southlake Health expands Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation Program to Georgina - June 20, 2025
• MOU announcement news release - June 27, 2024

Nov. 20, 2024 - Southlake Health and Northern York South Simcoe Ontario Health Team provide an update on the Healthcare Memorandum of Understanding

Council received the presentation regarding an update on the health-care memorandum of understanding between the Town of Georgina, Southlake Health and the Northern York South Simcoe Ontario Health Team. Work is underway to increase access to health care closer to home, including determining a location for an urgent care facility in Georgina. The presentation provided an update on the work done to date, including community outreach and engagement.

June 19, 2024 – Proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Southlake Health (Southlake), Northern York South Simcoe Ontario Health Team (NYSS OHT) and the Town of Georgina, Council Report and Video (June 19, 2024) 

Nov. 22, 2023 – Research and considerations to inform Council on Health Georgina’s request for funding re: physician recruitment and a future Urgent Care Centre 

• MOU announcement news release
• Southlake presentation
• Southlake Health page
• NYSS OHT Page
• Georgina Community Resources