The Ontario government is investing over $870,000 to support staff and patients at the Dryden Regional Health Centre with critical upgrades and extra funding to keep costs under control.
Kenora – Rainy River MPP, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Minister of Northern Development, Greg Rickford, helped to make the two announcements at the facility earlier this week, explaining that $344,868 is headed for upgrades and repairs to vital hospital infrastructure and equipment.
“Our government is ensuring hospitals in the Northwest have the facilities and the financial resources to continue providing quality health care services to our community,” said Rickford. “We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our health care partners in Dryden and will continue to make targeted investments that will lead to improved health outcomes for Northerners.”
Rickford adds that the hospital is able to use the funding for upgrades such as the replacement of roofs, windows, security systems, fire alarms and backup generators.
As well, Ontario is also providing the DRHC with a number of one-time funding programs to support the hospital as it continues to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Funding is broken down as:
- $283,778 for the reimbursement of hospitals’ COVID-19 expenses between April and June of 2022,
- $38,965 for the reimbursement of health human resource expenses for the same months,
- $204,600 for the 2022-23 fiscal year for pandemic prevention and containment costs,
The funding is all part of Ontario’s $182 million investment through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund and the Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund to 131 hospitals and 65 community health service providers across the province.