Northeast LHIN to decide on NEO Kids expansion proposal
Expansion would reduce wait times for treatment and keep sick kids closer to home, hospital says
The provincial agency that is responsible for healthcare in northeastern Ontario is set to decide whether to recommend a $55 million expansion for NEO Kids to the province.
NEO Kids — the Northeastern Ontario Health Centre for Kids — is currently housed inside the main Health Sciences North building in Sudbury.
At a board meeting Wednesday, the Northeast Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) is expected to decide whether to recommend a proposal to the Ministry of Health to build a separate building at the Sudbury hospital site.
The proposal submitted to the Northeast LHIN said the expansion would allow for more pediatricians to work in Sudbury and would keep more sick children closer to home for their treatment.
Dr. Sean Murray, chief of pediatrics at Health Sciences North, has been lobbying for the expansion of childrens' treatment in Sudbury for more than a decade.
"Those who are far removed from large urban centres sometimes have a hard time receiving care that is as supportive as it could be, meaning they have to travel a great distance," Murray said.
"I think it is possible to capture a lot of those types of children coming and staying in the north."
The new centre would also consolidate other services, such as psychiatrists and existing clinics, into one location.
The expansion would reduce wait times for treatment and it would also incorporate cultural components for aboriginal children, the proposal said.
The LHIN is expected to decide Wednesday afternoon whether to write a letter to the Ministry of Health supporting the proposal, or to require Health Sciences North to revise it and resubmit the plan.
Dr. Sean Murray shared his vision for NEO Kids with CBC Radio's Morning North host Markus Schwabe.
