Working quietly behind the scenes for a couple of months, Springwater Township officials were hoping to announce the arrival of a new doctor in Elmvale at Wednesday’s council meeting.
Those plans were scuttled at the last minute when the Ministry of Health denied Dr. Heidi Deboer’s application to establish a new family medical practice within the Springwater Health Services Centre at 35 Queen St. West in Elmvale.
“During the notices of motion, the CAO (Jeff Schmidt, chief administrative officer) and I received an email regarding the lease agreement for 35 Queen St. West,” said Renee Ainsworth, Springwater Township’s clerk, moments before Wednesday’s meeting wrapped up. “Unfortunately, the doctor received information from the Ministry of Health where the application has not been approved."
BarrieToday tried multiple times to reach Deboer for comment but was unsuccessful.
Springwater Township Mayor Jennifer Coughlin was not happy with the decision.
“We are disappointed by the Ministry of Health’s decision to deny Dr. Deboer’s application for a medical office in Elmvale despite the township’s efforts to prepare a suitable space,” Coughlin said in an email to BarrieToday. “This denial indicates that the ministry is unwilling to be an equal partner in providing the healthcare services our residents require, particularly in underserviced areas.”
Matt Garwood, Ward 1 councillor for Springwater Township, said the lack of healthcare services close to home is a topic residents in the region hear far too often.
“I echo residents’ frustration with the Ministry of Health’s decision not to permit a physician's office opening at the Springwater Health Service Centre in Elmvale,” Garwood said. “Springwater has made the commitment to being a partner, I hope the province will work alongside council and staff to resolve this matter and bring additional medical services to Elmvale.”
BarrieToday reached out to the Minister of Health, Syliva Jones, to find out why Deboer’s application was denied.
“Our government recognizes a key part of our plan to connect Ontarians to the care they need, when they need it is expanding access to primary care,” said Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for Jones, in an email to BarrieToday. “That is why we are investing an initial $90 million, triple our initial commitment, to launch the largest expansion of interprofessional primary care teams since they were established in Ontario, to bring primary care to communities that need it most.
“This includes investing over $6 million to teams in Simcoe County to connect over 23,500 people in the region to primary care,” Jensen added.
According to Jensen, the Ontario government received an overwhelming number of applications in its Expression of Interest that closed in 2023.
“Ontario Health and the Ministry of Health worked to extensively review applications and determine which proposals were ready to begin connecting more Ontarians to care immediately.” she said.
Jensen said the government encourages all unsuccessful applicants to continue to work with their Ontario Health region and the Ministry of Health on innovative action they can take to make it easier to access care in their community.
“We recognize that there is more work to do, and while these teams begin to connect hundreds of thousands of Ontarians, we remain dedicated to implementing our Your Health plan to further ensure everyone that wants a primary care provider can connect to one,” she said.
BarrieToday sent a follow-up request to Jensen asking specifically why Deboer's application was denied?
BarrieToday also asked Jensen to speak directly to the concerns of residents of Elmvale and Springwater Township who were expecting a new family physician to open shop today and won't because Deboer's application was denied?
We received no response to our follow-up questions.
According to a report for council prepared by Ainsworth, the township had been working on drafting a lease agreement for the Queen Street space since January.
Council felt having an agreement ready would expedite potential opportunities.
The draft lease agreement was reviewed by council during closed sessions that took place on Feb. 7 and Feb. 21.
Around the same time, the township was approached by Deboer, who was looking to relocate to the Elmvale area.
Deboer currently has a practice in Barrie.
Deboer’s proposal was presented to council in closed session during a Feb. 7 special meeting. Lease negotiations also took place in closed session, during special meetings on Feb. 21 and Mar. 20.
Under the terms of the agreement, the township would have covered the cost of rent, telephone/fax and internet services as well as hydro, heat and water.
According to Ainsworth’s report, those provisions are also provided to LifeLabs and South Georgian Bay Community Health Centre, as part of their lease agreements.
