Expect some heated debate in Windsor City Council chambers Monday night over the location of the new acute care hospital.
Councillors are expected to sign off on a zoning change to locate the new hospital on County Rd. 42. You can find the agenda here.
Critics of the new acute care hospital location are accusing the City of Windsor of using old development data while planning for the future. August 7, 2018. (Photo by Paul Pedro)
On one side, members of the Citizens for an Accountable Mega-Hospital Planning Process (CAMPP) who argue the location will lead to the hollowing out of downtown Windsor and impede access to health care for thousands of vulnerable residents.
It would rather see the new hospital built somewhere between the E.C. Row Expwy and the Detroit River, Lauzon Rd. to the east and Huron Church Rd.
Just last week, the group released a report arguing the plan to put the hospital near Windsor's airport is based on out of date information.
On the other side of the debate is Windsor Regional Hospital officials and those in favour of the planned location.
Hospital CEO David Musyj tells BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that the hospital is confident that the city will find in their favour.
"It's a part of the process," says Musyj. "That's 22 of the areas that are on the list. Anyone of them would have to go through a similar process, it's not an identical process."
Musyj also says those opposed to the location have not taken into account the property adjacent to the site, which has been acquired by the city.
"The one thing that I think people lose sight of is that the city itself proposed property that pretty much is a driver and a nine-iron away from the site that has been selected, and it would've had to go through the identical process that we're going through now," says Musyj.
Location supporters argue 70% of patients live within 12 km of the location, and patients downtown will still have access to an urgent care centre which will be located on University Ave. W at Crawford Ave. They say it will stay open 18 hours a day, longer if needed.
Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare will return to its former location on Ouellette Ave., and a new mental health wing will open up at a redeveloped Tayfour Campus on Prince Rd.
Those living in the county prefer the County Rd. 42 location as well saying it will be easier to get to than a hospital in the city's core.
Windsor Regional Hospital submitted the paperwork for the zoning change to the city back in February. Initially, the joint city council-planning meeting was set for July 16, but councillors decided in June to give those attending an extra month to prepare.
CAMPP has also asked City Council to defer any decision on zoning until after the October municipal elections. Musyj says he's not sure about that, saying the process needs to continue now.
"If the new city council wants to revisit the issue that this city council looked at, I mean they could," says Musyj. "But we just can't delay this anymore."
The City of Windsor has committed $106.4-million to the $2-billion project, while the County of Essex has agreed to pay $93.6-million.
-With files from Mark Brown