The two largest health units in the Kawarthas region are considering merging in response to an offer from the provincial government for additional one-time funding.
The boards of health for Peterborough Public Health and the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit announced on Thursday (November 2) they are moving ahead with a process to explore the impacts of a voluntary merger in the communities they serve.
Peterborough Public Health serves the city and county of Peterborough as well as Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations, and the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit serves the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
In 2019, the two health units first explored opportunities for shared service delivery after the Ontario government announced a budget that included plans to slash the number of public health units in the province from 35 to 10 and cut public health funding by $200 million.
The government put those plans on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and, in August this year, announced it was reversing course on the planned reductions, instead offering one-time funding, resources, and supports to health units that voluntarily merged and reinvested any savings from the merger into programs and services.
“Our ultimate goal is to protect and promote health in the communities we serve, while ensuring a strong voice in public health for municipalities and First Nations,” says Kathryn Wilson, chair for Peterborough Public Health’s board of health in a joint media release issued by the two health units. “If a voluntary merger offers a chance to strengthen public health and resolve some of the long-standing capacity challenges facing the sector, then it is an opportunity worth exploring.”
After the August announcement, several health units in Ontario announced they would be exploring mergers. To receive the additional funding and resources from the province, any voluntary mergers between health units would need to be completed by January 1, 2025.
Peterborough Public Health and the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit state that completing a merger assessment study for the provincial government “marks the first step towards understanding how the current proposal would affect delivery of public health programming and emergency response capacity locally.”
“Public health’s primary reason for being is to improve the overall standard of health in the community being served,” says David Marshall, chair for the board of health for Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit. “Doing so goes a long way to relieve the tremendous strain currently being borne by our downstream health sector and those people working within it. If there is a way to strengthen our ability to improve these health standards, it is our responsibility to investigate it.”
According to documents published by the respective health units, Peterborough Public Health received $16.5 million in provincial funding in 2022, with an additional $2.3 million from municipalities and First Nations. The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit received $18.3 million in provincial funding in 2022, with an additional $5.6 million from municipalities. Salaries, wages, and benefits represent around 80 per cent of each health unit’s budget.
The government’s assessment process for proposed mergers is expected to take several months, with a decision from the province to follow early in 2024. After the process is completed, the two local boards of health will then decide whether to proceed with the merger. In the interim, both health units will continue to operated independently.
