* The following letter was addressed to Dr. Eric Hoskins, the Minister of Health, and was written by Dan Miskokomon, Chief of Walpole Island First Nation.
As the elected chief of Bkejwanong Territory (Walpole Island First Nation) I am writing to request your support in maintaining 24-hour emergency care at the Sydenham District Hospital (SDH.)
The hospital provides our 5,000 members with professional healthcare providers, ancillary services, observation beds and emergency services 15 minutes from our rural community.
It has recently come to our attention that the hospital many face closure.
The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance shared their capital plan with us last month and we were alarmed to find out that they have partnered with the Chatham-Kent Community Health Centre and the Canadian Mental Health Association to propose a “community hub” that would replace the hospital services. They have developed these plans without support or involvement from the local SDH board of directors and they have only recently engaged our First Nation.
Closing the SDH would mean our members would have to be transported from Walpole Island to Public General Hospital in Chatham. Although the Health Alliance describes this as a 40-minute drive from Wallaceburg, the drive from Walpole Island to Public General can be well over an hour from various rural residences across the Island that make up Walpole Island First Nation.
Add to this our present lack of EMS services on Walpole Island, and the trip to Chatham would be a very long wait for acute care services.
Our population is growing exponentially – half of our members are under the age of 25.
SDH is located in Wallaceburg, an unincorporated town of 10,000 people that has faced numerous cuts to services in part because of a stagnant population. Yet our population continues to grow. The province’s roles and responsibilities are rapidly expanding when it comes to First Nations, and we ask for your cooperation and partnership as we examine options for maintaining an emergency department in Wallaceburg.
Dan Miskokomon
Chief, Walpole Island
– Photo credit: Walpole Island First Nation
