Friends of The Scarborough Hospital holding a town hall meeting Thursday.
Friends of The Scarborough Hospital hold a town hall meeting on Feb. 9 at the St. Paul's L'Amoreaux centre. Items to be discussed will include a possible alliance between TSH and Toronto East General Hospital.
File photo/WILLIAM MEIJER
The Friends of The Scarborough Hospital are trying to facilitate a discussion on the future of their community hospital by holding a town hall meeting next Thursday.
The event takes place at St. Paul's L'Amoreaux Centre on Feb. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. Ed Castro, co-chairperson of the Friends of The Scarborough Hospital, said the main issue is the community wants to be part of any discussions regarding the "possibility of an alliances or integration" between The Scarborough Hospital (TSH) and Toronto East General (TEGH).
"We are concerned about the impact this endeavour will have on Scarborough residents," he said.
TSH and TEGH began discussions about the possibility in the summer; in an interview with The Mirror in October both hospital CEOs stressed the discussions were still in the early stages.
TSH CEO Dr. John Wright has been invited to attend the town hall to answer questions, as has the hospital's board of directors.
TSH spokesperson Dave Bourne said in an email that Wright was out of the country at the moment and the board's planned annual retreat coincided with the event so he was unable to confirm if a hospital representative would be able to attend to answer questions.
"We always welcome community input, and we have a number of opportunities to engage with our community regularly," he said.
Castro said his group's main concern is the lack of information in the community about this possibility. He said not many people he spoke with had heard about it and those who knew about it, learned about it through the local media.
"We need information from the hospital on why they're taking this direction," he said. "Our attempt here is to really have that dialogue with the hospital."
St. Paul's L'Amoreaux Centre spokesperson Kathryn Mannion said they are happy to provide a forum for that dialogue.
"What we really want to do is have this as a vehicle for people to ask questions," she said. "People are always concerned about change and how it impacts their lives and their family."
The poster being circulated about the town hall uses the word merger, but in an update from the president in September TSH used the terminology "alliance" and "integration."
Bourne stressed it is premature to use the word merger.
"It is important to note that there is no merger plan at this time. There are only discussions and analysis taking place to determine whether a merger would make sense for the hospitals and the community," he wrote. "Absolutely no decisions have been made."
St. Paul's L'Amoreaux Centre is located at 3333 Finch Ave., west of Warden Avenue. For more information, www.facebook.com/hosmerge