Ontario Labour Minister announces $27 million to help southwest hospitals recoup lost revenue
CBC
The province is distributing more than $27 million between eight hospitals in Southwestern Ontario as part of a reimbursement for revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Labour Minister Monte McNaughton made the announcement Friday outside the London Health Sciences Centre.
In the past two years, Ontario's hospitals have lost revenue from retail operations, parking and other services which contribute to supporting clinical services.
McNaughton said the funding will cover the costs of ICU beds, ventilators, infusion pumps, ultrasounds and more for the following hospitals:
He said the pandemic highlighted challenges that hospitals were already facing even before the pandemic started.
The London Health Sciences Centre will receive nearly $15 million, which will go to support the services which have been augmented in the past two years.
"We're going to be very thoughtfully assessing the full costs and working with the government to support that gap that no one could have predicted at the start of the pandemic," said Jackie Schleifer Taylor, President and CEO of London Health Sciences Centre.
McNaughton added that the province will continue with more investments coming out of the pandemic, including hiring new nurses.
Friday's funding announcement is part of the government's $1.2 billion to help hospitals emerge from the fallout of the pandemic.
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