MPP Laurie Scott came to the Haliburton hospital to announce the $130,000 funding to cover the expense of purchasing and installation of the two sets of automated doors at the main entrance on Tuesday, Oct. 12 in Haliburton. This is part of the $1.329 million received by the Haliburton Highlands Health Services in 2020-21 through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund and the Local Health Integration Network for critical infrastructure upgrades./DARREN LUM Staff

HHHS receives $130K for infrastructure upgrades

By Sue Tiffin
Haliburton hospital will soon have better access with $130,000 of provincial funding announced Oct. 12 intended to fund the replacement of the building’s main doors.
The automatic doors of the main entrance, which have exceeded their life expectancy, were the backdrop of the announcement, made by Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock and Haliburton Highlands Health Services president and CEO Carolyn Plummer.
“These doors have been in place basically since this portion of the building was built, so over 20 years and they’ve been operating over 20 years, and as I’m sure you can imagine they get used very frequently … by the public, by our staff, by residents and patients alike,” said Carolyn Plummer, president and CEO of Haliburton Highlands Health Services. “They are well beyond their life expectancy and the repairs have been more frequent over the last two, three years. Unfortunately the door company we purchased these from is now no longer in existence, and the parts are becoming obsolete. To keep our infrastructure up to date, we’re really excited to be replacing these doors. They’re great, they’re automatic doors, they’re accessible, so it certainly helps the public to be able to get into our facilities and access the services and it helps our staff as well.”


According to a press release from Scott’s office, the funding is part of the government’s $182.6 million investment provided through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund and the Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund.
“Throughout the pandemic, our local hospitals have gone above and beyond to provide exceptional care to patients and families in Haliburton County,” said Scott in a press release. “This new funding will help improve operations and support capacity building to ensure residents of Haliburton and surrounding areas have access to quality health care services.”
HHHS received $1.3 million in funding in 2020-21 through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund and the Local Health Integration Network for critical infrastructure upgrades.
On Oct. 7, Scott was in Lindsay to announce $1.7 million in funding for Ross Memorial Hospital.

with files from Darren Lum