Sapphire magazine South Simcoe Palette Club spring show

HIKE FOR HOSPICE
Pictured here are some of the dedicated hikers who joined Matthews House Hospice to participate in the National Hike for Hospice.
Over $21,000 was raised by the local community, as well as Matthews House Hospice volunteers, clients, and board members.
The board team placed 3^rd across all of Canada for funds raised, beating out many large urban areas. Currently Matthews House is facing a funding crisis, and the support of the community at this time is a sign to the provincial government that Matthews House is needed here in South Simcoe and the clients deserve and depend on this essential service. For more information on Matthews House please contact 705-435-7218 or visit the website at <www.matthewshousehospice.ca>.

Wilson Urges Solution to Hospice Issue
(Queen's Park) Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson rose in the Legislature today to urge the McGuinty government to fairly fund Matthews House Hospice in Alliston. Wilson's remarks from Hansard are as follows:
Mr. Jim Wilson (Simcoe-Grey): I want to congratulate the volunteers at Matthews House Hospice for their successful Hike for Hospice on Sunday in Alliston. Families, seniors and businesses in South Simcoe provided tremendous support by donating more than $21,000 to Matthews House in support of their good work.
But while Matthews House receives wonderful support from the community, government support is not as generous or even fair. There's a huge discrepancy between how hospices are funded in central Ontario. Matthews House receives 15.6% of their budget from the province while hospices in York region receive 35% to 40% and some as much as 75%. So my question to the Premier and the Minister of Health is, why is there such a divergence of support from the province for the people of New Tecumseth?
The situation at Matthews House is increasingly urgent. They have lost one-time funding from both Central LHIN and support from a three-year Ontario Trillium Foundation grant, which will result in a loss of employees and cuts in services. To make matters worse, the government can't even get their act together to solve this. The Central LHIN told Matthews House they had to lobby the Minister of Health, and then the minister told them they had to lobby the LHIN. In fact, they've been working with Amanda McGoey from the minister's office for months and months, but those conversations have been completely futile.
We need a solution to this problem. The time for talk is over; it's time for the minister to appoint someone with authority to sit down with us and hammer out a solution. There is absolutely no excuse for the ministry to deny requests for meetings with local health care providers.
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Contact: Jim Wilson, MPP | 1-800-268-7542