Nov. 5, 2007/- The Belleville Intelligencer newspaper is calling the City of Belleville pledge to the redevelopment of the university hospitals of Kingston the right decision.

In a November 5th editorial, the newspaper said "For a few dollars per resident, it's reasonable insurance for the time when we need the services of an advanced medical facility, be it in Belleville or Kingston."

The University Hospitals Kingston Foundation – the fundraising arm of Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Care – is looking for a total of nearly $25 million in support from area municipalities. Belleville Council agreed October 29th to contribute $820,000 to three projects at Kingston General Hospital that their residents most heavily rely on for specialized care: the Cancer Centre, the intensive care unit and medical and surgical beds. The Township of Rideau Lakes made a pledge to hospital redevelopment in 2006 and the County of Hastings announced a $654,000 pledge on October 25th. Other municipalities have been approached, including Kingston, Gananoque, Leeds and the Thousand Islands and Lennox and Addington.

The Town of Quinte West was asked for a contribution Nov. 5th, the day of the editorial. The Council voted to send the request to its budget process. The newspaper urged Quinte West Council to follow Belleville and Hastings in giving to the Foundation.

“Both Belleville and Hastings County councils moved quickly to answer the call and that's as it should be. Quinte West will be asked to do the same at its meeting today and we urge councillors there, too, to make the pledge,” the newspaper said.

“The need is clearly there, not only for Kingston residents but for those from Quinte - some 13,000 from Belleville, alone, statistics show - who use Kingston's specialized care facilities.”

The Foundation’s request to the City of Kingston includes support for all three Kingston hospitals: Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Care. The Foundation requested a $10 million pledge and a grant equivalent to 50 per cent of the fees the City will receive from construction. The grant would be expected to be about $6 million.

A recent survey by COMPAS Research shows that a huge majority of people across Southeastern Ontario want their municipalities to support the redevelopment of the university hospitals of Kingston. Some 85 per cent agreed that all levels of government, including local government, should make health care a priority responsibility.

Click here for the full editorial.