Lakeridge Health gains new hospital
Ajax-Pickering site to split off from Rouge Valley
The province has announced that the Rouge Valley Ajax-Pickering hospital will be splitting off from the Rouge Valley Health System and join the Lakeridge Health network.
By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express
There will soon be a new hospital joining the Lakeridge family.
The province has announced that the Rouge Valley Ajax-Pickering Hospital will soon become a part of the Lakeridge Health network. No official timeline for the transition has been announced as of yet.
The decision comes after a year-long consultation process at the province.
“We are very much in support of the panel’s recommendations,” Tom McHugh, Lakeridge Health’s interim president and CEO, tells The Oshawa Express.
“We think it makes lots of sense for the Durham hospitals to be all under one corporate umbrella.”
McHugh says Lakeridge will be working with Mark Rochon, who was appointed by the province to oversee the transition process, to ensure things run smoothly when the banner above Ajax-Pickering changes from Rouge Valley to Lakeridge.
“I think he will bring to the table a number of proven strategies for making sure that this is a good process that is respectful of all the organizations and is really careful about resources and keeps patient care at the center. I’m pretty optimistic,” he says,
“I’ve been through a couple of these myself, and there are ways to really sit down at the table, talk about what patients need and what programs are being offered and work through how to plan for it.”
Someone who isn’t happy, however, is Fred Clifford, the chair of the Rouge Valley Health System’s (RVHS) board of directors.
“Our patients and their families remain our top priority,” Clifford states in a news release posted on the RVHS website.
“While this is a very disappointing outcome, our board and leadership team remain committed to delivering the highest quality of care to our patients.”