Money for Mattawa hospital

More provincial money has been announced to help Ontario hospitals improve their efficiency.

The province announced today how much the Mattawa General Hospital will receive toward that end.

Further information is included in the following news release issued this morning by Nipissing MPP Monique Smith:


The McGuinty government is investing $145,000 to help Mattawa General Hospital improve operations and reward efficiency, Nipissing MPP Monique Smith announced today on behalf of Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman.

“Hospitals are being asked to do a lot of hard work and make tough decisions as a result of our government’s Balanced Budget Process,” Smith said. “Most of them have stepped up to the plate. We’re going to reward that, and help them with the changes they are making.”

The funding is part of an overall $200 million one-time transition fund announced yesterday at the end of the first phase of an 18-month process to balance hospital budgets. The process has so far seen 76 hospitals come into balance. Hospitals have identified $174 million in savings in 2004/2005 and there will be hundreds of millions more in savings in 2005/2006.

“Our government has asked hospitals to change the way they operate, to reduce their spending on administration and focus more spending on direct patient care,” said Smitherman. “We are going to help them with the up front costs of making these important changes.”

The $200 million one-time transition fund includes:

• $91 million that all hospitals can apply for to cover severance and other labour adjustment costs
• $65 million to reward hospitals who have deficits but are moving in the right direction
• $5 million to reward balanced hospitals, including the most efficient “pacesetter” hospitals
• $20 million bridge funding to assist hospitals that need significant assistance to bring their budgets under control
• $19 million for small rural hospitals that have small operating bases and difficulty integrating services with other providers because of their isolation