‘Save Our Hospital’ signs to be distributed at three local grocery stores next week

A group that has been fighting to save Fort Erie’s urgent care centre is continuing to find ways to be visible.

Fort Erie Healthcare SOS is a grassroots organization that has been leading the charge to petition Niagara Health to revert its plans to close the Douglas Memorial site when the new South Niagara Hospital in Niagara Falls opens its doors.

Its targeted completion is summer 2028 and will also result in the closure of Port Colborne’s urgent care centre (UCC).

In recent months, close to 400 signs that read ‘Save Our Hospital’ have been distributed to local residents, and another 200 are expected to be handed out on September 12 when Fort Erie Healthcare SOS will have volunteers at three Fort Erie grocery stores from 3 to 6 p.m.

Sobeys, No Frills, and Joe’s Your Independent Grocer in Ridgeway will all have signs ready to be taken home and placed on the lawn.

The signs that are already placed and spreading the word about the fight have been effective so far, said the group’s founder Heather Kelley.

“It’s been extremely useful,” Kelley said in an interview with Fort Erie Radio on Wednesday.

There are many benefits, she said, and one of them is that it sparks a conversation with newer residents who perhaps weren’t aware that the site is slated for closure.

The signs “make people aware of what’s going on and the urgency behind it,” said Kelley, adding that people should have access to care at a site close to them and in the town where they reside.

In a statement provided to Fort Erie Radio close to a month ago, Niagara Health said it appreciates people’s concerns about maintaining healthcare services in their communities.

“Niagara Health, a hospital, must evolve to overcome the challenges of today’s healthcare system, including competing for doctors, nurses and other health professionals, and keeping up with advances in technology and how healthcare is delivered,” the statement read.

It appears the health system is moving ahead with its plans despite the public outcry, Kelley admitted.

“It seems more and more likely they’re going to go through with their plan to close the facility completely,” said Kelley.

Last June, Douglas Memorial stopped providing care 24 hours a day, cutting its hours of operation in half.

On September 25, Kelley’s group will host a healthcare summit from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Crystal Ridge Community Centre.

There will be guest speakers from the healthcare field, as well as politicians, and residents involved in “think tanks” and brainstorming sessions.

Kelley said it’s important to get more signs erected as people from elsewhere visit Fort Erie for the event, to get a physical understanding of how much the community is backing the group’s cause.

“We want them to see there is a lot of support for what we’re saying,” she said.

The health system will turn over the sites to the municipalities, and the future of the sites is their responsibility.

“We are actively working with them to help ensure they can maintain community-run healthcare services such as comprehensive primary care at those sites,” said Niagara Health, adding that the Fort Erie and Port Colborne UCCs “are better suited to be operated by family physician groups.”

When the new South Niagara Hospital opens in 2028, it will have 469 beds, adding 156 new beds to the hospital system.

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