General News

Plans for hospital redevelopment outlined at Mayor’s Breakfast

June 28, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Wendy Gabrek

The annual Mayor’s Breakfast took place at the Gibson Centre for Arts & Culture in Alliston on June 15.
The purpose of the Breakfast was to allow members of the community an up-close and personal experience with the Mayor of New Tecumseth, Rick Milne, and members of Town Council.
The event was also an opportunity for Jody Levac, president and CEO of Stevenson Memorial Hospital, to speak on the needs of the growing community hospital and its current $8 million capital campaign, “It Takes You.”
“On behalf of members of council, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you this morning to this year’s Mayor’s breakfast event,” said Mayor Milne in his opening remarks. “As you know the topic of this morning’s presentation is on the exciting redevelopment of Stevenson’s facilities.
Before we begin, I would like to make note that I am joined by my fellow council members Councillor Biss, Councillor Whiteside, Councillor Sainsbury and Councillor Jebb.
“Also welcome to Mayor Rob Keffer and Councillor Gary Baynes from the Town of Bradford-West Gwillimbury. Thank you for travelling in this morning.
“I would like to bring to your attention the latest edition of the New Tec Economic Development newsletter in front of you this morning. Town Council adopted the 2017 Economic Development work plan which encompasses several strategic directions for the coming months. The Town will look to strengthen our investment readiness, pursue partnerships and outreach as well as undertake effective marketing and promotion. With that, we have a very active year planned.
“I would like to take a moment to recognize another special guest in our audience this morning. Kayla Hartman is our local recipient of the RBC Make 150 Count Award. The Royal Bank of Canada challenged youth across the country to make positive change in their community using $150. Kayla chose to use her money to organize a surprise celebration for the teachers at Banting Memorial High School. She chose the teachers as deserving of recognition as they have an important role in shaping a community’s future generations. So at this time, I’d like to invite Kayla to the front here to present her with a certificate of congratulations.”
“Our communities are very fortunate to have such exceptional health care so close to home. There have been many events and announcements to benefit the hospital’s redevelopment over the last few months, including the most recent announcement of support from Honda Canada Foundation. I would like to welcome and thank Jody Levac, president and CEO of Stevenson Memorial Hospital for joining us this morning to share his team’s progress. Also, to recognize, we have Carrie Jeffreys, Vice-President and Chief Nursing Executive here this morning, as well as several of the Board of Directors and SMH Foundation members.
Jody has been the President & CEO since January 2014 and works in partnership with the physicians, hospital staff, and volunteers to oversee the strategic, operational planning and leadership of Stevenson Memorial Hospital.
“Before joining Stevenson, Jody worked at Southlake Regional Health Centre, where he held leadership positions within the Mental Health Program. In addition to earning his undergraduate and Masters Degrees in Social Work, he recently earned his Doctorate in Health Administration. Jody was also awarded the Leadership Award of Excellence at Southlake in 2010.
“In addition to his extensive leadership and clinical skills within the healthcare sector, he was raised in northern Ontario and understands the unique healthcare needs of small, rural communities. So, without further ado, please welcome Dr. Jody Levac.”
Dr. Levac’s presentation, “Transforming Stevenson,” included information on Stage 1 Redevelopment plans for the community hospital, built in 1964.
Levac also presented statistics and supporting evidence that the hospital was serving more than four times the amount of patients it was originally intended to serve, with 33,424 people through the Emergency Room alone between 2014-2015.
The hospital’s Stage 1 capital submission, which took more than five years to prepare, was finally submitted on June 22.
Levac promised full transparency on the progression of the redevelopment of the hospital, for both patients and doctors, in exchange for community support and engagement.
The planned future hospital will be developed in anticipation of the future population of the area (55,000), providing quality and innovative patient care for up to 90,000 patients, and will include a new Emergency Department; state-of-the-art operating room facilities and Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory; and a refreshed inpatient and outpatient areas.
The hospital redevelopment, a two-storey building wrapping around the back and over the top of the existing building, will cost $136.3 million total, with a $30 million community share portion.
The Mayor’s Breakfast concluded with the presentation of a signed limited lithograph to Levac from Mayor Milne in thanks for his work in the community.

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