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Beginning November 1st,
2017, the Deep River and District Hospital will be implementing mandatory paid
parking. The Board of Directors made the decision to introduce mandatory paid
parking as a means to increase revenues and to provide additional financial
support in order to maintain vital services at the Deep River and District
Hospital.
William Willard, Chief
Financial Officer and Vice-President of Operations, points out that with costs
for snow removal, line painting, salting, sanding, and general upkeep of the
parking facilities exceeding $20,000 per year, funds raised through paid
parking will help offset these costs and allow the Hospital to reallocate funds
to maintain Hospital services. Costs previously associated with repairing and
repaving the parking lot can now be reinvested in care delivery.
“This is money in our budget
that we do not have available for direct patient care,” he says. “By
establishing an affordable fee for parking, we can cover these costs and focus
our operating dollars on continuing to provide exceptional patient care.” While
the Hospital receives phenomenal financial support from the local community
through the Deep River and District Hospital Foundation and the Hospital
Auxiliary for equipment, DRDH is facing difficult challenges in meeting its day-to-day
operating costs. Many of these costs are beyond the Hospital’s control and
continue to increase at a higher rate than government funding. Charging for
parking will help to minimize job cuts and service reductions.
“Paid parking is no longer
something we can avoid in smaller communities,” says DRDH Chief Executive
Officer and President Richard Bedard. “It is a revenue stream that we require
in order to maintain quality health care close to home. The bottom line is that
DRDH can no longer afford to ignore this revenue stream and pay out of pocket to
maintain our parking facilities. Money that is spent on maintaining our parking
lots is money that is not available for patient care. This is a situation,
where if everyone participates and contributes, we will all gain with
maintaining core services,” says Bedard. “This is a necessary step to maintain
such important services within Deep River such as the local emergency department
and primary health care.”
Hospital staff and
Physicians will also be required to pay for parking. “We have made every effort
to introduce an affordable parking system that will be convenient for visitors
and effective in helping us meet our financial needs while maintaining the
functionality of the services provided to the community” Willard says.
In keeping with the Hospital
Parking Directive issued by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care DRDH will
be charging the following rates for visitors:
$5 for a 24
hour period with in-and-out privileges $30 for a
30 day pass with in-and-out privileges
“Please be assured that this
decision has not been made lightly”, Janet Gow, Chair of the Board noted. “The
executive leadership team and the Board of Directors have carefully considered
all options during their deliberations about this issue. DRDH is committed to
maintaining the highest level of quality care, and we are doing everything in
our power to maintain services in this very tough economic climate. DRDH
remains committed to our mission, vision and values and providing exceptional healthcare
to our community.”
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