A merger of two local health units is being given a closer look.
The Boards of Health for Peterborough Public Health and Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit are moving forward with a process to explore the impacts of a voluntary merger in the communities they serve.
In August, the Ministry of Health announced plans to strengthen the public health sector by offering one-time funding, resources and supports to local public health agencies that decide to voluntarily merge. The government has indicated as part of one-time funding that mergers would need to be implemented by January 1, 2025.
“Public health’s primary reason for being is to improve the overall standard of health in the community being served,” said David Marshall, Chair for HKPR District Health Unit’s Board of Health. “Doing so goes a long way to relieve the tremendous strain currently being borne by our downstream health sector and those people working within it. If there is a way to strengthen our ability to improve these health standards it is our responsibility to investigate it.”
The provincial pre-assessment process is anticipated to take place over several months, with a decision to follow early in 2024. At the end of the pre-assessment, the PPH and HKPR District Health Unit Boards of Health will decide whether to proceed with a voluntary merger. Both PPH and HKPR District Health Units will continue to operate independently during the pre-assessment period.
