Access to emergency services is the No. 1 priority for a new Orillia hospital, according to a recent survey.
Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) made the survey open to the public from Aug. 27 to Sept. 27 and received 1,163 responses.
Respondents ranked 10 criteria from “very important” to “not at all important.” Emergency services access received a score of 5,775 out of a possible 5,815 points.
The results didn’t necessarily come as a surprise to Carmine Stumpo, president and CEO of OSMH, though he noted there was “some differentiation” in the rankings related to numbers 8 to 10 — capacity to host complementary services, proximity to other health services, and proximity to other services.
“Our entire purpose is just to understand what was important to people,” Stumpo said.
Parking and public transit access ranked second and third highest, receiving 5,486 and 5,193 points, respectively.
There was also an opportunity for respondents to provide comments, and hundreds chose to do so. Some gave their opinions on where the hospital should be located. While that was not the point of the survey, the feedback will be helpful, Stumpo said.
“It really provided the community a chance to elaborate and it provided some context behind the numbers,” he said. “We want to have as many options available to us as possible. When we get down to decision making … the community input is one feature that we will certainly consider.”
The survey was part of OSMH’s Future Hospital project, which began in 2016. The plan is to build a new hospital on a new site and repurpose the existing site. There is no target date for the opening of a new facility.
The hospital is in Stage 1 of the project, which includes obtaining government approval. That is a lengthy process, but Stumpo said there will be “multiple other opportunities for community input” along the way.
He thanked everyone who completed the survey.
“To have over 1,000 people take the time to fill out the survey … we thought that was outstanding,” he said. “It’s a highly engaged community.”
Survey results (of a possible 5,815 points)
- Emergency services access: 5,775
- Vehicular access: 5,634
- Parking: 5,486
- Public transit access: 5,193
- Proximity to where people live: 4,814
- Pedestrian/bike access: 4,655
- Amenities/land size: 4,501
- Capacity to host complementary services: 4,297
- Proximity to other health services: 4,081
- Proximity to other services: 3,529
