Jim Curle Donates 48 Acres for New Hospital Site

From left, John Russell, Raheem Hirji, Valerie Przybilla, Eric Hanna, Jim Curle, MPP David Piccini, Bob Crate, Kevin Huestis

#whatmynewCMH means to me

Waiting for Province to Approve $2.5 million Capital Planning Grant

Politicians Join OMNI and Hospital Dignitaries at Official Announcement

Article/images by John Campbell

Campbellford - Tues., Oct. 18, 2022 - Campbellford’s new hospital will be built on the west edge of town, on 48 acres of farmland that’s been donated.
The future site of a campus of care on County Road 30 was announced Monday morning in a field across the road from the acreage that local dairy farmer Jim Curle has agreed to donate.

“We still have a lot of work to do to ensure this project becomes a reality,” Campbellford Memorial Hospital Foundation Executive Director John Russell told the gathering.

“But today marks the biggest step we have ever taken towards seeing the vision of a new Campbellford hospital become a reality.”

The province still must approve the project and commit to funding most of it.
The hospital will cost an estimated $150 million to build, with 70 per cent to be funded by the government, and the balance to be raised by the (hospital) Foundation.

The hospital said in a media release that securing a site strengthens its bid to have the project approved.

The next step is to obtain a $2.5 million capital planning grant to work on a design.

Russell said in an interview that “it’s absolutely critical” the hospital be awarded the grant because it “gets us right in the queue to move the project forward.”

MPP David Piccini

Local MPP David Piccini said he and hospital officials were to meet with ministry staff the next day to discuss the hospital’s future.

He said he “will always fight for this hospital and will not stop … until we’re cutting the ribbon here to deliver the best possible patient-centered care.”
“It’s going to happen,” he vowed.

The capital planning process is expected to take three years to complete and construction another four.

Hospital Board chairman Kevin Huestis said the campus of care proposed for the Curle property will include an expanded Burnbrae Gardens long-term care residence.

“Eventually we plan to expand the site to include supportive senior housing, the community mental health clinic, and more,” including relocation of the helipad, Huestis said.

Raheem Hirji, President and CEO of Omni Health Care, said his company is “extremely excited” about the “unique opportunity” it’s being given. Omni operates 18 nursing homes across the province representing more than 1,500 beds. It currently has 43 beds at its Campbellford location but plans to increase that number to 128 when it joins the campus of care.

Upgrading long-term care facilities “is the right thing to do and will lead to better outcomes,” as has been shown during the pandemic, Hirji said.

CMH Interim President and CEO Eric Hanna said the hospital, which opened in 1953, will be able to increase access to its services and deliver them in a cost-effective manner as part of a campus of care, “through innovative partnerships, so that we can continue to provide the best health care possible for our community for another 70 years.”

Eric Hanna

There are challenges, however.

“Like most other small hospitals CMH has a shortage of many health-care professionals, including laboratory technologists, nurses and physicians. While we’ve been able to minimize the impact of these shortages with only minimal disruption to our services, the future remains challenging. The staff at CMH have been working extended shifts, extra weekends … doing whatever it takes.”
He thanked staff members for “going above and beyond in today’s environment.”

Russell said the community will need to raise anywhere from $25 million to $40 million.
“It’s a monumental amount of money,” he said. But a feasibility study conducted several years ago found there are people “willing to donate significant amounts” and others are ready to serve as volunteers to assist with the Foundation’s fundraising efforts.
Russell said he was pleased to see so many area politicians present for the announcement because the 14 municipalities in the hospital’s catchment area will be asked to get behind the project.
“So we are feeling cautiously optimistic that we will be able to achieve the massive amounts that have to be raised locally,” he said.
“But we know it’s not going to be easy.”

Piccini praised Curle for his leadership by making such a huge donation.
“Jim, you need to know how grateful your province is to you and your family,” he said. “You’ve set a standard for others to live up to” in support of the hospital.

Jim Curle and Valerie Przybilla

Foundation board member Valerie Przybilla said Curle’s donation “is a tremendous legacy gift” for “generations to come.” He “cares deeply” about his community and “feels it’s important for residents to give back however they can … to ensure it remains vibrant.” He is “truly leading by example.”

Hanna said a new facility “will go a long way in helping to attract” doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals. The existing building’s “deficiencies … don’t create an ideal environment” in which to work but staff will have input in designing the new building, to make sure it meets their objectives.

Russell wasn’t able to place a value on the land being gifted, saying in an interview that an official appraisal has to be done first.
Curle said he hadn’t talked to anyone in real estate to get an idea of how much the land is worth “but the rumour mill in the ag circle is around $10,000 an acre” for farmland.

In choosing to donate land he uses to grow soybeans, Curle said he “looked at the community needs … I’m sorry to see the land go but this is more beneficial for the community than (it is to) me.” Trent Hills needs a new hospital because what’s there now “is getting a little run down … (and) I don’t want to end up going to Peterborough or Belleville” for health care.

Hanna urged residents to support the hospital’s bid to gain provincial approval by writing or calling their local MPP or the minister of Health. They can also go on social media and say #whatmynewCMH means to them.