By Chad Ingram

Published Nov. 23 2017

The Dorset health hub is two years old and the board that oversees the medical facility is looking to Algonquin Highlands township for continued financial support.

The hub has 375 registered patients about a third of whom have chronic health conditions and about half of whom reside in Muskoka and half in Haliburton County.

“We’re still maintaining over 2000 visits a year” Colin Reaney a board member of the Dorset Community Partnership Fund told Algonquin Highlands councillors during a Nov. 16 meeting.
In addition to medical appointments the hub offers initiatives such as food crisis and diabetes programs home visits and the emergency provision of medication.
Technology also facilitates virtual visits with specialists saving patients the drive to visit them.
“They can have a discussion without having to travel to Toronto or Barrie to have those conversations” Reaney said.

A number of capital projects have taken place or begun during the past year including a renovation of the entranceway improvements to stairs a seminar room and lab room and the installation of signage.
The board is also looking to drill a well at the site.
The hub uses funding from a variety of sources in order to function including grants from foundations and corporations and fundraising campaigns.

The board’s request was for $10000 from Algonquin Highlands and Reaney was scheduled to make the same pitch to Lake of Bays council. Dorset sits partially in Algonquin Highlands in Haliburton County and partially in Lake of Bays township in the District of Muskoka.
Councillors deferred the request to their upcoming budget deliberations.