The Port Rowan Medical Center needs a new arrangement to continue to provide primary care to an aging population, Norfolk County councilors were told Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, the county building that we currently occupy in Port Rowan is larger than we need and costs us more for full-time rent than we can continue to afford,” Murray Porteous told county councilors at a Tuesday council-in-committee meeting.
As well, landlord responsibilities including snow removal and janitorial services have had to be supplemented by the centre’s medical team to ensure patient safety, Porteous said.
The centre, at 1035 Bay St., Port Rowan is operated by the Norfolk Family Health Team but is owned by Norfolk County. The health team also operates the Delhi Community Health Center and has more than 48 full and part-time medical staff.
The health team has helped bring physicians to the community in recent years. It has expanded its mobile health services to provide care to seasonal workers and operates the only assessment center for flu-like illnesses in Norfolk County.
The Port Rowan center provides primary care to an aging and increasingly vulnerable population. Most residents are between 60 and 85 years, Porteous said.
The team is a non-profit organization that receives its operational funding from the provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The services it’s providing however, is putting pressure on the centre’s budget.
The center is open a few days a week and is currently meeting the needs of the community.
However, it is paying full-time rent for part-time occupancy and the team’s lease agreement with the county prevents it from sub-letting the space to others when it is not being used by the health team.
The team is looking to obtain space in Port Rowan that is better suited to its needs and will allow it focus on providing primary care services.
“This would allow us to not only continue to provide a high level of care to the residents of this area but would allow us to provide more services and a broader, more holistic approach to health care tailored to the needs of these residents,” Porteous said.
Following his presentation, Coun. Kim Huffman wanted to know what it was that Porteous wanted from council.
Huffman asked if the health team was looking for a decrease or some flexibility in the rent or is it looking for a new building.
“This building is old and it’s showing it’s age,” Porteous said in response. “We recognize that council only has so much money to work with.”
The building is oversized for what the health team needs. If the team could find space better suited to its needs and enabled them to partner with other health care providers, that would be ideal, Porteous said.
Still, moving to another space would have its own challenges including costs, Porteous acknowledged.
count. Linda Vandendriessche was also unclear as to what the center was looking for from council.
Porteous said it would be inappropriate to talk about financial issues in public.
Councilors accepted the presentation from Porteous as information and were scheduled to discuss the issue further during an in-camera or closed session.
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