HRRH – Page 2 – WestonWeb.ca

Donation thwarts quick sale of HRRH Church site

It was standing-room only at a meeting last night about the future of the Humber River Hospital Church Street site, according to reports.

The HRRH is looking to sell the building as it consolidates its operations at its new campus near Keele and Wilson.

Hospital administrators have not yet sold the site, and do not yet know what will happen there, but members of the audience were clear that they did not want it to become a residential building. Instead, they suggested functions more in line with its current use, such as a nursing home, a college, doctors’ offices, or a daycare.

No decisions will be made any time soon though: part of the land on which the hospital sits was donated by a Weston family, the Trimbees, in the late 1940s. The Trimbees made it a condition that the site must remain a hospital, and that ownership would revert to “the Town of Weston” in the event that the land was no longer needed.

This is certain to throw a wrench into the sale of the site and may allow residents to have a greater say about what becomes of the hospital. There are conditions the city must meet when selling property, and, though I’m not a lawyer, they seem to force at least some more consultation.

The extra work, consultation, and the upcoming municipal election mean that little will happen until 2015.

Events this week

The future of the Church Street hospital will be discussed this Monday, June 2, 2014 at 7 pm in the hospital’s cafeteria at 200 Church Street. Importantly, the future of the existing site at 200 Church Street will be discussed.

The all-candidates debate will be held this Wednesday, at 7 pm, at the York Civic Centre, at 2700 Eglinton. Laura Albanese, who skipped the televised debate, has said she will attend.

The official opening of the Farmers’ Market will be next Saturday, June 14, with live music, a free waffle breakfast, and a kids’ zone.

Courtney Carter captured

Courtney Carter, the man who was allowed to walk free from the Humber River Hospital at Church (despite being under arrest) has been rearrested.

HRRH releases maniac, forgets to tell cops

The Humber River Regional Hospital at Church and Jane is not known for its acumen, but this may set a new record for mush-headed moronicity. The hospital forgot to tell the cops that they were releasing an honest-to-god maniac whom the police had just brought in for assaulting one of their own.

Courtney Carter spat infected blood at an officer, tried to grab the officer’s gun, threatened his neighbours with a knife, and was charged with assault, threatening death, assaulting a police officer, and disarming a police officer. He was brought to the Church Street campus of the HRRH sometime after midnight, according to The Star.

The hospital released him, presumably with a brown bag full of cookies and a hug, without notifying the cops—even though he was, obviously, under arrest.

Happily, Carter is not from the Weston area; he was arrested near Black Creek Drive and Weston Road. The police describe him, in their neutral tones, as “extremely dangerous”. He is 5′ 8″, 141 pounds, with many tattoos and a frizzy afro. He should not, obviously, be approached.

HRRH no longer the abbatoir it once was

Is it good news when things aren’t as bad as they once were? If so, then we have some good news!

In 2007, Humber River Regional Hospital was one of the most dangerous hospitals in the country. It had the second worst mortality rate in Canada; the hospital even refused to release their numbers in 2007, the year it performed the worst. It was eventually forced to, and the results were quite shocking: 36% more people were dying there than were expected to. (Interesting trivia: George Smitherman, the Minister of Health at the time, and the person who forced them to release their data, was born at the HRRH Church Street site).

Since then, however, things have got better—much better. Their mortality rate has continued to improve every year, and this year, the HRRH is quite safe. Its mortality rate is 7% below average.¹

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¹ My father is an epidemiologist. He would have a heart attack (hopefully at Mississauga’s Credit Valley Hospital, the best) if he saw me using stats like this. It’s complicated. It’s close enough, though.

Laura Albanese to host community health meeting

Laura Albanese, our MPP, will be hosting a meeting to discuss healthcare in the Weston area. Representatives from the Humber River Regional Hospital will be there to present the new hospital being built at Wilson and Keele. There will also be representatives from most of the healthcare organizations in York South–Weston.

The meeting starts at 7 pm on Thursday, and will be at 1789 Lawrence W.

Albanese’s been busy: new family health teams announced

Laura Albanese, our MPP, has had a busy week. Yesterday she announced that the new Humber River Regional Hosptial and the West Park Healthcare Centre will get ‘family health teams’ to “provide increased access to care for 40,000 residents.” Earlier this week, she announced that West Park will be expanding.

Family Health Teams are supposed to more closely integrate doctors, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and nurse practitioners to improve the quality of care. They also offer extended office hours and after-hours care. The government says that this reduces costs while improving care by diverting patients from emergency rooms.