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It's time to warm up for Run for Southlake

Newmarket council receives an update about the challenges of overcrowding at Southlake Regional Health Centre
Southlake event 6
Runners with the Huskies running club lead the way at the Run or Walk for Southlake in 2018. Miriam King/Village Media

One of the best ways that you can support your local hospital is by participating in the 2019 Nature’s Emporium Run for Southlake that’s set to take over Davis Drive April 28, Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation special events officer Erin Rogers told Newmarket council last week. 

“The run is the best way, we see, that our communities come to Southlake and show their support,” Rogers said. “We’re anticipating 1,800 participants and over the length of this event we’ve raised more than $1.5 million for the urgent needs in the hospital. We rely on our communities to fund 100 per cent of most new and replacement tools, equipment and technology. All the pieces that the government doesn’t fund.”

This April’s Run for Southlake is a 5-km run, walk or jog “road race” up and down Davis Drive that will find individuals and teams start and finish at the Newmarket Seniors’ Meeting Place. So far, $2,660 has been raised by early-bird registrants.

The event is Southlake’s most significant fundraiser and it sold out for the first time in 2018. Participants from three years old to 80 came out in support not only from Newmarket, but also from South Simcoe, Durham and Dufferin counties, Toronto and even Muskoka.

Rogers extended an invitation to Newmarket council — which was accepted — to participate in the Mayor’s Cup Challenge, a competition that finds participating municipal teams competing for the top fundraising prize. The Town of Newmarket, which has participated in the event for more than seven years, claimed that title in 2017, but lost it to East Gwillimbury in 2018.

In her deputation, Rogers also provided an update to council on what has been happening at Southlake.

The hospital has a new strategic plan in place that was developed in consultation with people across its catchment area. During that engagement, hospital officials noted that the communities it serves are growing, that the health care system is changing and the demand on the health care centre is also growing and changing, she said.

“The main thing, not surprisingly, that we heard was (the issue of) overcrowding, and folks needing more from the hospital,” Rogers said.

For instance, Southlake’s emergency department (ED) was built for a maximum capacity of 70,000, but last year it saw 113,366 visits to the ED, or a new patient every 4.5 minutes.

“It’s not surprising that it’s overcrowded,” said Rogers. “We have 426 beds in the hospital, but 68 people need a new bed everyday.”

Councillor Grace Simon said she was “absolutely overwhelmed at how busy” the emergency department was when she went there two weeks ago.

“There was people just plastered everywhere and the doctors and nurses were literally running through the hallways and I was really shocked,” Simon said. “But I was impressed with how the staff handled everything. It was a real example of how we’ve grown and the facility hasn’t grown with the community.”

Even though the hospital is over capacity, Rogers said Southlake still holds the provincial record for the quickest door-to-doctor time, with an average wait in 2018 at 37.5 minutes.

Mayor John Taylor, who did a tour of the hospital recently, said he saw some examples of outstanding technology and service levels, but also saw first-hand the overcrowding.

“To see multiple rooms that are meant to be multi-purpose or therapy rooms turned into semi-permanent rooms with four, five, or six hospital beds to try to manage the overcrowding, you can see the challenge that staff have to operate under,” Taylor said. “It complexifies everything else, things like delivering food and cleaning the halls, it’s more crowded and more condensed.”

Taylor, along with other mayors in Southlake’s northern York Region catchment area, will participate in a new initiative known as the Healthy Communities Alliance. Led by Southlake CEO Arden Krystal, the municipal leaders will meet quarterly to discuss health-care related issues and provide feedback on what they’re hearing in their communities to find ways to possibly lend support.

The Run for Southlake takes place on Sunday, April 28 beginning at 8 a.m. The race starts and ends at the Newmarket Seniors’ Meeting Place, 474 Davis Dr. For the third year, Davis Drive will be closed eastbound and westbound during the race. Participants will start the race in a staggered format beginning at 8:50 a.m. The race is expected to end about 10:30 a.m.

The early bird registration deadline is March 1, but participants can register up until noon the day before the event.

For seven years, Nature's Emporium has been the title sponsor of the Run for Southlake.

For more information, and to register, pledge or donate, visit here.

Kim Champion

About the Author: Kim Champion

Kim Champion is a veteran journalist and editor who covers Newmarket and issues that impact York Region.
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