References

CMGRA Letter & Presentation to Town Council

April 14, 2010

As our delegate was not able to make a presentation at either of the Council Meetings on this matter, we thought it expedient to send you a copy of our presentation (click here), highlighting our concerns regarding the cost of the hospital. We hope you find the information useful.

We would like to highlight the following issues for your consideration:

What we DO know:

The citizens of Oakville want/need a new hospital
The new hospital is going to cost (at least?) $1.5 billion
The structure will be 1,620,000 square feet
The total local share will be (at least?) $530 million
The Town of Oakville has been asked to contribute $200 million
HHS proposes to generate $270 million in revenues, and $60 million through the Capital Fundraising Campaign

What we DON”T know:

How many beds will actually be paid for with this funding, and when they will be available
What facilities/services will be available on completion
What are the possibilities for the disposition of the existing hospital property?
How the revenues equaling a present value of $270 million are to be generated, and what is the “reasonableness” of this assumption (given that this revenue projection is 10 times greater than that of the Niagara Health Complex – see attached)
Who pays for any shortfall in revenues or fundraising (and what is the cost of funding any shortfall)? Will any shortfalls result in a reduction in service, staff, equipment, and/or completion of the project?
Why this hospital is going to cost so much more than any other new-build in Ontario (see attached)
Why the local share is so much higher than other new-builds under the same funding model (see attached)
What happens/who pays what if the estimated costs rise significantly after tendering? ( A major problem regarding the AFP process as outlined by the Ontario Health Coalition)
Why is the Town to bear the entire cost for “shelled in space”? Wouldn’t it make more sense to plan for an addition, which would likely include provincial funding?

Before making a commitment to an investment of this size, we would expect our elected representatives to ensure that this is a good business decision, and that they be prepared to be accountable for this decision.

On behalf of the Chartwell-Maple Grove Residents Association,

Daniela Morawetz, President

Dave Gittings, Vice-President

Anthony Molinaro, Vice-President

CMGRA New Hospital Presentation to Town Council

The following is a summary of Anthony Molinaro's presentation to Town Council on March 4, 2010.

The Chartwell-Maple Grove Residents Association represents approx. 1600 households in southeast Oakville.

The majority of our members are fully supportive and believe Oakville needs a new hospital and that this project needs to move forward. Our residents understand and are willing to commit financially to build this hospital, with the express expectation that their money will be spent in an efficient and responsible manner

Some concerns that we would like to see examined regarding costs, contribution and Local Share.

1 - Based on the information we have seen, the cost of this hospital appears to be far higher than that of any other proposed or approved facility. Click here for cost comparison and refer to cost per bed numbers.

We do not claim to be experts at the costing of hospitals, but the basic numbers seem to indicate that the cost of this project, on a simple dollars-per-bed basis, is far higher than similar projects in other communities.

2 The requested municipal contribution is the largest we could find. Again, when compared to similar projects under way. This $200 million amounts to over $3000 per household. 3 Times the amount of the next highest community

3 - This proposed hospital looks to be a state of the art facility that will offer services that aren’t available in other Halton hospitals. Is there any intention to expand the financing to include a portion from Halton?

It should be reiterated that we fully support the building of a new hospital. We just think that these questions need to be answered, and we trust that you, our elected representatives will pursue those answers and share them with us.

Two requests

1 - Why is the board position for the Town of Oakville on the HHS Board of Directors currently vacant?

2 - Given the size of the contribution is close to the same amount as the operating budget, is it possible to form a Council sub-committee to investigate options/concerns much like is done for the budget.