Soon it will be known whether three eastern Ontario public health units will amalgamate into one.
Medical Officer of Health for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health Dr. Ethan Toumishey told Hastings County Council Thursday that he had “very good feelings” about ongoing merger talks with the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington and Leeds, Grenville & Lanark heath units.
The province is encouraging mergers to create single units with populations of 500,000 or more and will pay the costs, however, amalgamations are not being mandated.
Dr. Toumishey said the three health units share a lot of similarities and believes a merger could increase staffing in specialty areas and provide enough resources to deal with a surge in demand, like the one brought on by COVID-19.
Consultants and local representatives must decide by April 2 whether or not to submit an amalgamation business plan to the province.
