Renfrew County Health Coalition

01/15/2026

There is no obligation on the part of the House of Commons or any Member of Parliament to authorize the publication of an e-petition or to present an e-petition or a paper petition to the House of Commons. Neither the House of Commons nor any Member of Parliament authorizing the publication of an e-...

01/14/2026

This sounds positive Mr. Billy Denault. Thank you for sharing this information. Can we please have a town hall meeting with you to discuss what we can do in the three years until this is achieved? Some of your residents have already been waiting for up to seven years. Some of those have chronic conditions that could use a consistent care provider.

Other residents are asking what they can do when the shortage of nurses, personal support workers and other health care workers results in no home visits, often with no notification. Do you know how much the caregivers rely on home visits so they can get errands done or perhaps get a break?

We don't understand why there are for-profit clinics opening in Ottawa for cataract surgery when we have surgical units sitting empty 16 hours a day. Not only must our seniors rely on others to make the frequent trips to Ottawa but some have reported upselling charges of up to $11,000. Do you really think we can rely on a facility to provide an unbiased opinion about what tests, drops and lens we need when they are motivated by profits?

The Canada Health Act clearly states that extra charges are unlawful. Is that why you, like your predecessor, John Yakabuski, refuse to address our concerns?

While we wait for your response we have been circulating a petition to the federal government to address the existence of private, for-profit health clinics. Please let the residents of Renfrew County know if you change your mind about meeting with us. Thank you.
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6811

Our government is advancing our plan to connect everyone to primary care by 2029!

By investing up to $8M to support planning for 16 new and expanded primary care teaching clinics, we are connecting 300,000 more people to primary care.

Learn more: https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1006919/ontario-building-and-expanding-16-teaching-clinics-to-connect-300000-more-people-to-primary-care

01/13/2026

Way to go Melanie!!! It is amazing how much one person can do when they are determined. Luckily the seniors in our area will benefit from her hard work!

01/13/2026

Please help stop the privatization of health care and sign the petition to be passed in Parliament. We have 20,000 signatures but we need more to restore public health care. Click the link here and thank you in advance;

There is no obligation on the part of the House of Commons or any Member of Parliament to authorize the publication of an e-petition or to present an e-petition or a paper petition to the House of Commons. Neither the House of Commons nor any Member of Parliament authorizing the publication of an e-...

01/13/2026

In just five days, 10,000 more people signed our online petition to demand the federal government enforce the Canada Health Act where the Ford government is violating it with their private clinics in Ontario.

Let’s try to double it - we can make an impact if everyone helps by asking your friends, neighbours, and colleagues to sign it. We are making great progress together! (The online petition closes at 4:41 p.m. EDT this Friday, January 16).

Pls sign & share here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6811

We are in the fight of our lives to protect Canadian public health care because it is in an existential threat. Alberta's new law violates the Canada Health Act and brings in U.S. style private (for-profit) health insurance. In Ontario, public hospitals are under existential threat by the Ford government that is forcing cuts and closures to them while shifting more than $300 million to open new for-profit clinics to take over their core services. In these for-profit clinics, elderly patients are routinely charged thousands of dollars when they go in for care.

Pls sign & share here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6811

To make sure your signature is counted, please open the email that the House of Commons sends you after signing the petition. Then, click on the blue text that says "Please confirm your support to complete the process." It is easy and only takes a few minutes.

01/13/2026

🥲This is too close for comfort. We sympathize with the poor residents.

Kemptville District Hospital has made the difficult decision to close its Interim Long-Term Care (ILTC)/Convalescent Care Programs (CCP) unit, targeting a closure date of June 30, 2026.

KDH is committed to supporting current residents of the unit to find alternate placements in Long-Term Care (LTC) homes of their choice. The unit will continue to operate until all residents have found appropriate placements.

The 12-bed unit (4 ILTC and 8 CCP) was opened in 2006 to address a severe shortage of LTC beds in the community at that time. However, KDH’s mandate has always been acute care and since then, over 250 new LTC beds have been established locally, and convalescent care options have increased.

KDH is committed to adjusting its services to meet the changing health care needs of North Grenville’s rapidly growing population.

Read the full news release here: https://www.kdh.on.ca/kemptville-district-hospital-closing-interim-long-term-care-convalescent-care-unit/

KDH staff, physicians, and volunteers were notified of the closure earlier today and a public Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14 at 7 pm. You can find the link to join the Teams meeting in the news release on KDH’s website.

01/13/2026

The Royal Canadian Legions in Renfrew County work tirelessly for their communities. Another way they can make a critical difference is before Jan 16 at 4:45, sign the petition that Nate Erskine-Smith, MP, will present to the House of Commons. If we don’t all act now there is a high risk of losing the protections to our universal health care set in place by the Canada Health Act. Military soldiers returning from WW2 were the catalyst for this legislation that makes it unlawful to charge us for medically necessary health care. Will they please help to defend it now?

https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-6811&fbclid=IwdGRjcAPTXjtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe0o5CZE8erKA_6k9nzmdvHRgC43DTS-mTOGjSCDdFuR7D11rbHbxvTplS4XA_aem_EgaTngxGl70byKD30Gew7A

Thank you to the Royal Canadian Legion Charitable Foundation for their generous donation to the Pembroke Regional Hospital. The donations are given on behalf of the The Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Provincial Command Branches and the Ladies Auxiliary Charitable Foundation to help veterans and the community at large and are awarded to local causes.
The Pembroke Regional Hospital Foundation is thankful to be the recipient of this donation which will purchase a new patient stretcher at the Pembroke Regional Hospital! Thank you.

In the photo (left to right)
Leigh Costello - Community Fundraising Specialist (PRHF)
Roger Martin - Executive Director (PRHF)
Lynn Mathieson - Petawawa Legion Branch President
Helene Hahn - Petawawa Legion Ladies' Auxiliary President

01/13/2026

What great news! Congratulations on the success of these young people!

🎉 Celebrating Growth & Achievement at DRDH 🎉

We’re proud to congratulate Jeff and Dale on the successful completion of their Personal Support Worker (PSW) certifications!

Both Jeff and Dale have grown their careers right here at DRDH - starting on our housekeeping and dietary teams and now stepping into new roles as certified PSWs. Through the Learn and Earn Accelerated Program with Humber College, they completed 12 weeks of online learning followed by 8 weeks of clinical placements at our organization.

Their journey reflects our commitment to supporting opportunities for our team to learn, grow, and thrive!

We’re also excited to share that two more team members are currently enrolled in the program, and we are wishing them every success as they continue their studies.🩵

01/13/2026

It is hard to overstate how destructive Bill 11 is. If Alberta and Ontario fail to fight provincial privatization, free universal healthcare across the country is at risk of collapsing.