The Minister acknowledged the fact that this hospital was built in 1961 and hasn't had an expansion or overhaul since that time. The crowd burst into cheers and applause at the announcement because although they expected good news, they didn't expect the Minister to exceed the ask of $1.9 million.
The Minister also joked that she now thinking of herself not as the Minister of Health but now the Minister of Halton Healthcare, given the recent announcements of funding for Oakville Trafalgar Hospital and most recently funding for Milton Hospital. Although Joseph Brant Hospital isn't in Halton Healthcare, it is in Halton Region and has also received positive news on funding an expansion.
This support from the provincial government is great for Halton Hills and illustrates that the current government does recognize that growth areas are in need of provincial investment.
It has taken a very long time to make this commitment a reality at Georgetown Hospital. The crowd was made up of many community leaders who have pushed for this funding for quite some time. The Halton Healthcare CEO John Oliver would be among those since he was the CEO of Georgetown Hospital in the early 90's prior to amalgamation. Dr. Don Trant, another former CEO of Georgetown Hospital was on hand and noted that he really thought he was never going to see the day when this actually happened.
Minister Matthews said that this announcement was not only about the funding but was also approval for the project to proceed. This is just as important as the funding and means that this project can go to tender immediately.
The ball is now in our court to raise the community share of $5 million. This represents the largest fundraising campaign ever in our town. With Fred Helson's exceptional personal gift of $1 million we are well on our way. We are a generous community and so I expect that, with this provincial support in hand, the campaign will quickly meet its goal.
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