For Immediate Release
September 5, 2007

MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT IMPROVES ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Investment Will Help Attract More Physicians and Families To North Middlesex

PARKHILL - The McGuinty government is supporting better access to health care by investing in the North Middlesex Community Medical Centre, Maria Van Bommel, MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex announced today, on behalf of Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

"Our government is committed to working with local communities to ensure that patients have access to high quality health care closer to home," said Van Bommel. "That's why we are investing in this project to strengthen services to our community."

The province will contribute $343,853 to help the North Middlesex Community Medical Centre and the Municipality of North Middlesex improve access to medical care and plan for the long-term viability of the centre. This investment will help the centre retain a co-ordinator, recruit more physicians to the area, develop an enhanced marketing strategy, oversee expansion of its satellite site and attract more private community investment.

"We appreciate the Ontario government's investment in this project," said Dr. Bertha Wolf, board member for the North Middlesex Community Medical Centre. "It brings us one step closer to our goals of attracting more medical professionals to this community, reducing our patient wait times, and implementing upgrades that will improve accessibility to the centre."

"These measures will serve to improve the quality of health care local residents can expect both now and in future," said Mayor J. Wesley Hodgson. "We are committed to improving the quality of life in North Middlesex and that means supporting our community health centre and encouraging more social and economic investments that will benefit the families who live here."

This is just one more example of how, working together, Ontarians have achieved results in rural Ontario. Other examples include:

Today's investment was made through the Rural Economic Development (RED) Program, which invests in community-based projects that support sustainable rural economies in three priority areas: improved access to health care services, revitalized communities and downtowns, and enhanced skills training.

Through the RED Program, the province has invested $45.1 million in 139 projects, representing a total investment of $477.4 million in rural Ontario, since 2003. The Ontario government and its partners are building strong rural communities that work better for the people who live in them.

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Contacts:
Kelly Synnott
Minister's Office
416-326-6439

Brent Ross
Communications Branch
416-326-9342