Clearview Council has agreed in principle to an expansion of the Creemore Medical Centre that could get underway as soon as the spring of 2013, providing the community is able to contribute $350,000 to the cause.
The expansion plan presented at Monday night’s Council meeting by Creemore Medical Centre Service Board chair Bill Mann is the third iteration to come before Council. The first, presented as a concept in December 2009, was similar to the most recent with a few less tweaks, for a total cost of $320,000. The second, which was part of an HRDSC grant application in January 2011, was to cost $1,055,000 with 75 per cent funding from the federal government if the application had been successful. That plan would have included a 1,000-square-foot addition, a medical service elevator, an accessible washroom on the lower level, paved parking, an accessible meeting room, and two accessible entrances.
With the Service Board finding out last August that the grant application had been unsuccessful, Mann came before Council Monday with a scaled down plan, this one predicted to cost $450,000. Like the first plan, the expansion would include 900 square feet of new space on each floor – the rise in price over the original concept is due to several tweaks, including the addition of a ramp at the front door and automatic door openers throughout, a reconfiguration of the basement layout, the replacement of carpets and window coverings and repainting.
The project is to be paid for by $350,000 in fundraising from the community and a $150,000 Township debenture, to be paid back over 20 years.
A $50,000 contingency fund has been built in to cover unexpected expenses. The financial structure has been calculated with no assumption of Alliance Homes’ promised donation of $500 for each of the 498 homes it plans to build (for a total of $249,000). Should that money come through, Mann said it would be used to offset other sources. He also told Council he thought the Service Board could raise the $350,000 from community donors by the end of the year.
The expanded facility, which Mann said he hoped could be finished by the end of 2013, will provide enough space for one new family physician, as well as a possible nurse practitioner. It will improve access for seniors and the disabled in a number of ways – there will be better access for cars to drop people off directly at the front door, a small ramp to help people overcome an existing lip at that door, and a lift on the stairs at that entrance to provide access to the lower floor. There will be a room in the basement that could provide space to a lab or a physiotherapy practice, as well as occasional health clinics. The office area on the main floor will also be modernized, and the reception area will be moved to allow privacy for clients checking in.
The Medical Service Board conducted a survey of 400 residents in the facility’s catchment area last year and found that only 25 per cent used physicians at the Centre. In addition, 34 per cent used walk-in clinics outside of Clearview Township. Newcomers to the area also expressed a desire to use the Medical Centre, but the four physicians currently in the building have full rosters. With growth, Mann pointed out, demand will only increase.
It’s anticipated that once the expansion is complete, rents for the building’s tenants will increase from $11 to $12 a square foot to $14 to $15 a square foot. That figure was factored into the plans, as the existing tenants told the Board that they’d have a hard time staying with rents higher than that.
After Mann’s presentation, Councillor Thom Paterson made a motion that Council agree in principle to the expansion, authorize the necessary engineering and architectural work, and support the concept of a $150,000 loan provided that the Board can reach its $350,000 fundraising target. The motion passed unanimously.