Hospital survey seeks to determine What’s Important to You? as criteria to select a new site are considered

(Tuesday, August 27, 2019 – Orillia, ON) –   A public survey to help determine what criteria should be utilized to determine the site of a new hospital in Orillia is now open.

The survey asks respondents to assess ten (10) possible criteria on a scale from Very Important to Not Important at All, with an opportunity to suggest other criteria or provide additional comments.  The results will be instrumental in setting the final site selection criteria later this year.

“Before we entertain any potential sites, we need to know what’s most important to the communities we serve,” said Carmine Stumpo, Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) President and CEO.  “By having the community weigh in on the criteria, we gain a better understanding of how to assess sites from their perspective.”

Among the draft criteria included in the survey, respondents are asked to indicate the importance of items such as available parking, public transit, proximity to other health services and the capacity to create additional green space or walking trails on site.

The survey will run through until Friday, September 27^th and can be accessed online at www.osmh.on.ca or www.orilliafuturehospital.ca or in paper format available at the Volunteer Desk in the main lobby of the hospital or by special request to OSMH Community Relations. Click here to complete the survey. 

Background

The Future Hospital project, initiated in 2016, is a multi-year planning exercise to identify the hospital’s long-term infrastructure.  The decision to plan towards construction of a new hospital on a different site, while re-purposing the existing hospital to meet community needs, was made in 2018 following a thorough examination of potential options and with extensive community engagement.  Earlier this year, the hospital submitted a Stage One planning submission that is currently under review by the Ministry of Health.