The chair of the Huron County Board of Health says he believes the Local Health Integration Networks will be getting more involved in health promotion and the delivery of health care in the future.
Tyler Hessel says the ministry seems to be pushing in that direction and the funding will flow through the LHINs, so more involvement in delivery would be a natural extension of that. Hessel says he has some reservation about the involvement of the LHIN, and says so far he hasn't seen a good business case for that, but he hopes a case can be made for that in the future.
Hessel adds he'd like to see more clarity in how services are delivered. But he points out that dramatic changes in implementation aren't likely in smaller health units like Huron, because their funding has been frozen, and that restricts their options.
Hessel says out the ministry continues to talk about a rural lens, but doesn't appear to be using one, and he believes it's very important that there be some recognition that what works in large urban centres does not necessarily work in smaller, rural communities.
