Regional council supports town’s fight to save Douglas Memorial

Mayor Wayne Redekop has collected the support of regional council in the town’s fight to save the Douglas Memorial urgent care centre.

At last Thursday’s council meeting at Niagara Region headquarters, Redekop brought Fort Erie’s recently-adopted motion to the table, his council’s plan to petition the province to continue funding Niagara Health to keep Douglas Memorial open.

Supporting it was an unanimous decision made by all 12 regional councillors participating in the meeting.

Redekop earlier this year presented to Niagara Health’s board the concerns Fort Erie has with the site, which opened in 1931, closing when the new South Niagara Hospital in Niagara Falls opens in 2028.

About 15 years ago, the site lost its emergency department and was downgraded to an urgent care centre.

Redekop has said in the past that Douglas Memorial is a “safety net” for the people of Fort Erie.

At last week’s regional council meeting, he said it can also be a “safety valve” for Niagara Health if and when other hospital sites are overwhelmed.

He also said that recent statistics show 24 per cent of patients treated at Douglas Memorial are non-residents of the town, many coming from other places in Niagara.

“That opportunity will be foreclosed to them if the urgent care centre is closed,” said Redekop, who is also a member of regional council.

Fort Erie’s population currently is 36,200, a number he says wasn’t supposed to be reached until 2031, according to previous projections.

He said a growing community of Fort Erie’s size needs its urgent care centre.

Redekop also noted that the City of Niagara Falls has already endorsed the motion.

“They’re seeing the same types of things we’re seeing,” said Redekop, referring to excess patients at other sites.

He said the cost to operate Douglas Memorial annually is about $10.8 million, which equates to less than two per cent of Niagara Health’s budget.

The province needs to step in and provide that funding to keep the facility open, he said.

“It’s not that we’re asking for something we’ve never had,” said Redekop.

“We’re asking for something we believe we need,” he added.

A copy of the resolution after it is passed by the Region will be sent to Premier Doug Ford, the provincial and federal ministers of health, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and all four MPPs and MPs who represent Niagara.

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