CFN – The Concerned Citizens Coalition will be holding another public meeting on Monday February 4, starting at 6:30 pm, at the McConnell Manor. The purpose of the meeting will be to further the cause of making sure the General Hospital be used for the benefit of seniors in this area.
“This issue will affect all of us sooner or later,” stated Mark A. MacDonald. “There is a long list of social benefits this building has to offer in regards to long term care, wheel-chair accessible housing, doctor’s offices, affordable housing for seniors and, the list goes on and on.”
“It’s time to put politics aside and work together or we run the risk of losing this opportunity,” stated MacDonald. “All politicians are especially invited to join us and as well, Councillor Rivette has agreed to be our guest speaker.”
Josh Welsh and Emily Ladoucer-MacDonald, Grade 12 students from St. Lawrence High School and community activists, issued a joint statement commenting that “Health care involves all of us, we are happy to join this cause. This is an opportunity for us to learn first-hand, rather than just reading about it in school.”
“We are talking about a community building listed at $2 million, and probably worth a bundle more, that already belongs to us,” stated MacDonald. “There are probably 15 to 20 government offices that pay rent in Cornwall, and they could benefit from having a permanent home.”
This sale requires final approval from the Minister of Health and that has not happened. This building is still very much in play and our seniors deserve all the help we can give them.
“It’s important to get the youth involved in things such as this at an early age. Especially when it will impact you as you get older,” stated Josh Welsh.
And we at CFN are adding a few poll questions:
Hey Admin. Your polls add up to more than 100% each. Just saying.
Wow! Those polls allow more than one answer. That’s how this new poll service rolls.
Why the fixation on the long time coming closure of this institutional facility ? Why are some members of this community so reactive rather than proactive ? The emergency room facilities were shut down how long ago ? The parking lot on the corner ceased it purpose how long ago ? Look at the exterior of the buildings does it appear that regular maintenance has been ongoing ? It was apparent years ago that a consolidation plan was in place and that the former Hotel Dieu site was the logical target of expansion/consolidation. Hospitals were never intended to be long term care facilities. Private enterprise responds to this need as we in Cornwall have already witnessed i.e. a former motel on Vincent Massey Dr. changed its original purpose, new construction of a facility on Second St. West. Now is not the best time to panic and potentially develop a new Cornwall White Elephant project. Look rather for leadership, nay demand it and trust that cooler heads will develop a proper plan and manner in which to best deal with providing housing facilities to meet the demand of our senior population. Let us not shoot ourselves in the foot !
Well David what just occurred with your post is called conversation. People are sharing their opinions. We may not all agree, but I do think before you sell or toss away a facility like this the community should be consulted. Yes, Cornwall General may not be used as a hospital, but there are a ton of services that it could be used for and if it’s sold and turned into a private long term facility that tax payers can’t access unless they can afford it where will we put services that are needed? Will the tax payer be forced to build a new facility?
We need an independent honest appraisal and review of the facility and then we need community agencies to sit down and see if there are current options to utilize the service. When Cornwall grows, and it will, we all will be grateful to have this facility for community growth.
Support of the Cornwall ‘General’ Transition Team Efforts
It is time to redirect our attitudes, hone in on the real issues and come together in support of the local initiatives to project our desires for the abandoned Cornwall General Hospital to be developed primarily for senior care during their end game years.
As you may know Mr. Mark McDonald and now a fine young man by the ;name of Josh Welsh a well known Cornwallite, a real up and coming star in this community, are planning a community initiative at the McConnell Manor at 4th and McConnell Street, Feb. 5th at 6:30.
May I suggest that we take a new direction with who and where we need drive this message home to. That we no longer play a blame game with the Cornwall Community Hospital leadership and move on up to the LHIN, the Municipal and the Provincial governments, with respect and reasoned solutions.
Yes, it appears that sale signature package will be that of the CEO/Board of directors along with the Re/Max realtor and any prospective client. However, the hospital group were the unwitting fall guys whose need of these facilities is near gone. It is right that they move on and dedicate their efforts to continuing upgrades in support of their mandate, the management and care through of normal hospital environment.
Yes, we have a right to protest, but is/was our protest a combination of other issues such as the languages fiasco and now the emotional drain on us over the loss of the Cornwall General Second Street site to an unknown buyer whose purposes are also unknown? Of course it is. The fact that we feel emotionally tossed and turned due to oversights of our anxieties by the CCH team does not now mean we need continue to banter them and beat them with a big stick. Think of THEM as you wish but the bottom line is that THEY are/were only doing what the Province of Ontario unwittingly DUMPED on their laps.
Now, what to do? Come together with vision and purpose. Bring to the table your selves to assist in formulating objective ideas and plans that can be driven home to the Province these needs for this site, as we see them.
Please, I urge you to come out. Mr. Andre Rivette will be the guest speaker, whom I too am anxious to hear from. Thank you.
Dave Windsor
Points taken ADMIN. I decidedly agree with community consultation and that other and all options need to be considered, a race to final judgement would not be my recommended course of action either. My concern is with municipal management involvement and failed projects like the Cornwall Complex repeating themselves. The need for affordable LTC is evident as a result of our disproportionate share of individuals requiring social assistance programs. Moving forward these same individuals within our community will most likely not be able to afford a typical private facility. I agree that Cornwall will grow and I would dearly love to hear a leader share a vision of our future as our population ages, its challenges flaws and all. Cornwall has not always been my home, but I know no other now and I am positive of our future.
Yhea, Dave, admin and the rest of ya, you are all quite correct in your thoughts, but what I do not understand, is this, CCH, LHIN, city hall, provincial/federal and many others “in the know” have known for 10 yrs. that the hospital CCH will be closed and sold?
Could they have taken steps then, to either advise the public or maybe put some type of assistance to apply then to change the events of today?
Instead ALL of these a/m places are like an animal who has been beaten with the tail between thier legs. A constant 360 degs. of passing the buck for ten yrs. and still doing it.
Shame on all of them or can I say ” SOP’s” (standard operating procedures).
Now the hospital “gang” has a new twist, they are not responsible for what is happening to this hospital, it’s the provincial goverment who has decreed that this hospital must go and they have been volunteered by the goverment to action the order, SOP”S anyone.
One must look in depth or as the saying goes, look outside the box, it stinks to high heaven and the provincial goverment better get a say into it or else, voting time might change a few personalities.
Anyways, it’s still not concluding the language problem, because of a few, small minded people on the board and elsewhere, selling of the other hospital and our wonderous city leaders, Cornwall still is a nice city to live in.
Tomorrow is another day, folks, if you wake – up, put a smile on your face and look outside and see how beautiful freedom is.
One of the university legacy project proponents should come forward and buy the hospital, they owe it to the community.
I agree with Wow!
I can`t help but wonder why, at( cornwallhospital.ca)I read
Disposition of Second street Properties
“Submit to the minister of Health and Long-Term Care for APPROVAL,THE HOSPITAL BOARD`S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE DISPOSSAL of the former Cornwall General Hospital`s surplus land,buildings and assets after All PROGRAMS are transferred to the McConnel Avenue site”.
And according to the (F L S A)
Definitions -1 In this Act “Commissioner” means
The French Language Commissioner appointed under section 12.1,(commissaire) “goverment agency” means,
(a) a ministry of the Goverment of Ontario,
Except that a psychiatric facility,residential facility or college of applied arts and technology that is administerd by a ministry is not included unless it is designated as a public service agency by the regulations.
Im not sure but it seems there trying to sell our hospital to save there own hides. I agree this rich click along with mayor that want a university if they realy want a legacy ,They sould buy and reopen the General Hospital as it was in the past .There was enough doctors and nurses that were not french enough to be hired at the McConnell site. It seemes like they are asking for aproval to sell it not that they are being told to do so.
And if they are under the rules of the FLSA they dont have much say over the General Hospital .Does it not have a psychiatric facility and long term care patients.
Thank you for letting me vent my opinion!
Stacey February 2, 2013 at 11:34 pm
Interesting Stacy.
We all know the hospital practices discriminatory hiring practices through language ,but we also know the goverment has layed the groundwork for that discrimination.
I have met many government workers that agree that its discrimination ,but fear for their jobs to speak up about it .
By the way that’s called oppression.
The problem in this country is under the charter of rights you ARE allowed to discriminate by language.
If you look under the charter it sets conditions how discrimination is protected ,yet unlike the UNITED NATIONS language is deliberately ommitted.
That is how Quebec can treat their minority English with so disdain and discrimination ,yet the federal government continues to allow this discrimination through language.
Government legislated language is what creates the devide of cultures.
There’s a difference between providing services where warranted as the original intention of the legislation,as opposed to hiring for the purpose of language then MERIT.
Yup, you’ve read right, there might be a french zealot who may buy and make this building and property into a french university.
Too bad, so sad, people here, in cornwall, did get along with each other, unfortunately, there are a few bad apples involved that want to change the world for a few pittance of greed and make bad, serious, unintelligent decisions as shown in the last 10 years.
The one thing that they have forgotten, they too, are getting older and THEY shall be remembered when the time comes.
Stacy…highlander…too difficult to believe…yet radical enough that one can’t help but too believe that FLSA has had their corrupt hands in the soupo, stirring the pot all along.
This community has been HAD since day 1 when the hospital decisions were first made, unmade, remade 10 plus years aago, and every day since. To add to matters worse, the municipality sat on their hands.
NO LEADEERSHIP. NO GONADS,WITH INTIMIDATION AND FEAR OF SPEAKING UP FOR FEAR OF LOSING JOBS…AND THAT IS HOW THEY SCREWED US.
Now then, how do we get past it all? I don’t haave the answeers other than ‘SENIORS AND KPUBLIC IDOL NO MORE’.
SO FAR iDOL NO MORE HAS ONLY GARNERED REBUKE. Standing tall against language discrimination has only garnered rebuke and intrangidence.
With NO definitive leadership in government…supportive of a drive to assure the CGHY is used for a Seniors ‘RESIDENCE’ PERHAPS as well as a ‘Seniors HOME’ FOR END OF LIFE CARE…PERHAPS RESIDENCE ON MAIN FLOOR AND HOME ON ABOVE FLOOR.
RETENTION OF THE pSYCH WARD, hOLD THE PHYSIO 3RD NORTH FOR PYSIOTHERAPIES RENTING THE SPACE TO THE DOOCTORS IN CHARGE TO USE THIS FACILITY FOR INITIAL ASSESSMENTS AS WELL AS PERMANENT LOCATION FOR THEIR CLIENT CARE…TWO UNITS IN ONE INSTEAD OF DOCTORS HAVING SEPARATE VISITS AT THE MCcONNEL cLINIC OR ELSEWARE.
Why not dadvertise for a consortium of doctors to set up the same as the consortiums are managed in say, Inngleside, Morrisburg and Iroquois, but here, all in one place for office assesssments and followup care. Two functions in one.
The doctors could put up say $250,000 each as a franchisee would ;to buy a McDonalds, then when they wish ;to move on, the would sell or rent their spot to a replacement doctor.
A Shoppers Drug Mart could potentially take up the lower floor with access from Second Street…like in the old days where we had a fish/wish pond enterence…bring a touch of history back.
Lots of alternatives can be darranged including some seniors apartments managed by social servgices or whoever with enterances only from the back where emergency use to be..closed off from the center and front ends for private access’s.
So much will depend on the buyer(s)……….Of course lots of office space for private business such as online marketers who we love to hate as well as city office space/tax/audit manageer offices to run and control all other unit functions from.
Maintenaince for cleaners, garbage, cafeteria/lunch rooms etc with a kitchen in place would also find its niche. We caould go on and on and on.
Condos? Apartments? On and on thats for sure.
Dave, what you have said is absolutely correct. Yes, all that can be accomplished, but, what is needed badly, is someone who has those ideas and can actioned them.
The problem is, who is going to be the purchaser of the land (s) and building?
OH oh, I mis-spock me thinks…Admin said above meeting Monday Feb 4th 6:30………….sorry for any inconvenience about Tues..5th stated as above.
Dave Windsor February 2, 2013 at 3:34 pm
Support of the Cornwall ‘General’ Transition Team Efforts
…………………………………McConnell Manor at 4th and McConnell Street, Feb. 5th at 6:30.
Dave Windsor you made me think . Perhaps thinking not to be included on my greatest thoughts list but thinking none the lest. Rather than a franchise (though I do not wish to minimize your concept in the least) why not a consortium of doctors/investors that would purchase the site. They then could invite offers to purchase space within the facility with the view of establishing a condominium office building whose primary owners would all have a vested interest in the area of medical delivery systems. Agreements of purchase and sale could contain first refusal rights on any resale unit so that an existing owner could expand readily if their demand requires or alternately an owner (or group of owners) could lease space to say St. Josephs Continuing Care whose appetite to expand through purchase/building may not be whet enough yet. Thanks Gary maybe I’m drinking far to much coffee or just experienced a new type of brain gas but it was fun at any rate. Just thinking !
See you at the meeting !
I will be one of the speakers at the meeting. Health care is my pet project.
Nagging question throughout all ;of these, our ranting and rambling, where are the French in all of this, or are they waiting in the wings to nab anything government to claim french first over hiring like they now have done with so much in these fields so far…..well maybe NOT so much in the seniors homes, manors and residences but in areas of public front line and nursing care at least, I/we have heard nothing in support of our proposels/suggestions/ideas/recommendations for future uses.
Alternately, what by lawe requirements will be required for changes to current ones……..to ad to building modificatrions regarding minimal retrofit requirements………so much to work out.
Personally, I would not be up to the task of pulling all of this together……would any of ;;you?
I realize these and many other unanswered questions, even those not yet arrising will need professionals at the helm.
I would like to see a self supportinmg entity here run something like a Mall enterprise not of stores but of a business, medical, public private set up.