For many living in Ontario, it is easy to take for granted the healthcare system we rely on. When an injury or illness strikes, access to a quality hospital and medical professionals without facing an immediate financial burden is something I deeply appreciate. For me, this is not just a distant concept; it is personal.
My son, now thirty-four, had open-heart surgery at the tender age of 14 months, a scary ordeal that played out over the Christmas and New Year holidays. As a parent, it was one of the most challenging times of my life. Without OHIP, the bill would have perhaps been in the hundreds of thousands—an impossible burden for most to face. Since then, I have experienced other medical needs over the years: sports-related surgeries, a two-week hospital stay for a fractured skull and severe concussion, and, more recently, a complicated gallbladder surgery. In all of these cases, I received timely and effective care with no out-of-pocket expenses other than a nominal ambulance fee of forty-five dollars.
Back in August, what I thought was a simple case of food poisoning turned out to be something much more serious: a severely inflamed gallbladder that had attached itself to nearby organs. From my cottage on Manitoulin Island, I was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Sudbury, where I was swiftly assessed and treated by a team of professionals using state-of-the-art facilities. Due to the complexity, my case required a procedure called an ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) including placement of a stent in my bile duct, followed by the gallbladder removal the next day. The entire experience was covered by OHIP, a profound relief in a moment when health, not finances, should be the focus.
Our healthcare system is not perfect, but it is hard to ignore its value when you consider how much similar care might cost elsewhere. When I lived in the U.S. in the early nineties, I had employer-provided health insurance. Even with coverage, out-of-pocket expenses for my family were in the thousands each year—often for basic care, not including anything major. Here in Ontario, there is peace of mind knowing that many forms of care are readily accessible without significant costs.
Despite this, I can see the need for investment in our healthcare facilities, especially as I witnessed the outdated infrastructure in some parts of Sudbury’s hospital. During my recovery in Sudbury I was on intravenous with the IV pump mounted on a wheeled stand next to my bed. The IV stand was on casters which was the equivalent of a bad shopping cart that wouldn’t roll. Each time I went to the washroom I had the nurse disconnect my IV so I could walk. The nurse admitted much of the hospital’s aged equipment was in the need of replacement.
Collingwood has been pushing for a new hospital for over a decade. Our current facility is too small for the area’s population growth, and with Ontario’s aging demographic, the demand is only increasing. According to the Province’s projections, seniors aged sixty-five and over will represent over 21% of Ontario’s population by 2037. With baby boomers reaching retirement age and more people moving to this beautiful region, the pressure on our healthcare system will only intensify leaving us all to question how and when the financial burden of keeping up with the province’s healthcare needs will be met.
Healthcare is a multifaceted topic of which there is a real estate component. A hospital anywhere requires a significant piece of land not just for the building but parking, improved road access and more. In my next post I will expand further on how the challenge can be met and what sacrifices may need to be made to address this critical aspect of our lives.
The author is a Broker, Market Value Appraiser-Residential with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada and a Past President (2008) of the Lakeland’s Association of REALTORS®.