The Listowel Wingham Hospital Alliance (LWHA) will be hosting community engagement sessions next month.
LWHA President and CEO Esther Millar says the purpose of the sessions is pretty simple; they want to hear from residents about what they want to see for the future of the hospital sites in Wingham and Listowel.
"We know healthcare is rapidly evolving, the needs of our community, they're rapidly changing. We want to understand what is needed, what is important to people, and see if there's any opportunities to for us to make some changes or do things differently without losing what matters to our community," Millar explained.
Millar says they will be sharing insights with attendees on the realities of rural healthcare, as well.
"Our main purpose is to listen to what people are thinking, but we do also want to make sure that people understand that there's guardrails and parameters within which we have to operate. There's some things we'll be able to do and there's some things that we're not able to," Millar continued. "Healthcare is about quality of care, so we need to make sure that whatever we do is reasonably within our ability to do, and it's to a standard that Ontarians have come to expect."
No one lone hospital, let alone a rural one, can offer every single medical service available, Millar points out. So, she says the LWHA always wants to be as transparent as possible with residents, and they want to hear from them in these sessions, which will be the first set in a series of such gatherings.
"Not one hospital can meet all the needs of the community it serves. In Ontario, we try and design a system of care that can meet the needs of the people as close to home as possible. But there are realities and one is that it takes many hospitals and many community providers," Millar concluded.
Registration is required to attend the sessions. Sessions will take place as follows:
Thursday, August 21: Two sessions at the Listowel Hospital site
Friday, August 22: Two sessions at the Wingham Hospital site
Saturday, August 23: One session at each site
Attendance is limited to 20 participants per session to ensure meaningful dialogue.
"This is an important time for our hospitals," said Stacey Ash, Chair of the LWHA Board of Directors. "We’re facing both challenges and exciting opportunities, and it’s essential that community voices are part of the planning process from the very beginning."
Registration and an online survey are now open. To choose your session and secure your spot, visit: www.lwhaengagement.com