Site selection survey for new hospital receives more than 13,000 responses

Almost 13,000 community members provided their input on the site for the proposed new hospital in Durham.

Lakeridge Health announced the beginning of a site selection process in June to identify and protect land for a proposed new hospital.

A public consultation was launched in July to give community members an opportunity to provide input on what is important to them when it comes to selecting a site for a future hospital.

Almost 13,000 responses were received through a public survey, focus groups with subject matter experts, and a Facebook Live community town hall.

From accessibility and environmental considerations to anticipating population growth, Lakeridge health says the feedback received through the public consultation process will help the expert panel to finalize the site selection criteria that will be used to score all land proposals.

As a next step in the expert panel’s work, Lakeridge Health will be issuing a Call for Proposals for the identification of a site. The call is expected to be issued in September and interested respondents will be asked to submit their proposal.

“We know how important it is to choose the best site for a proposed future hospital that will support all the communities in Durham Region,” says Lakeridge Health President and CEO Cynthia Davis.

With so many community members sharing their perspectives, Davis says the input will “assist the panel in their work as they review the proposals and identify and recommend a site that truly meets our region’s growing health care needs.”

Lakeridge Health says it will be welcoming all landowners to submit their sites for consideration, and all interested parties will be encouraged to review the final site selection criteria contained in the call prior to submitting their proposals.