Today is Wednesday, September 18, 2019. I am your host Stone and this is The Whitby Report.
Weather
It’s a little late but we did have a super awesome day. I think we hit a high of around 22°C with just a slight breeze and sunny skies. My garden was thankful. We’re expected to have this kind of weather for the remainder of the week.
Local News & Stone’s Take
Oshawa and Whitby Go Toe-to-Toe in Fight for Durham’s New Hospital. So Lakeridge Health, which operates a bunch of hospitals in the region knows that they need to add another hospital to Durham Region. North Oshawa and Whitby are growing like crazy, so we’re the two most obvious locations for a new hospitals with emergency care.
The thing is Oshawa already has a hospital with an emergency room. Whereas it’s not technically “north”, it does service the Oshawa area as it’s very central.
When someone in Whitby needs to go to the emergency room, we’re taken to Oshawa. Why? Whitby’s hospital does not have an emergency room and is more of a “after-emergency” type of hospital. Whitby absolutely 100% needs this hospital. Oshawa already has their emergency services in place. Whitby does not.
The region that this hospital would take up is literally an empty field sitting right beside the 407. What better location for it and use of land and service to a town that needs to go an extra five minutes to a neighbouring hospital emergency room? Five minutes doesn’t sound like a lot but it’s enough that lives can be saved. With Whitby’s growth skyrocketing, the hospital’s location shouldn’t be under debate. The location is clear: Whitby.