At their meeting yesterday, the board of Southeast Public Health voted to keep their rural office locations open for the time being.
A proposal was made earlier this year to close some of their locations as a cost-saving measure, but a detailed report on how that decision was made was requested at the last board meeting.
Medical Officer of Health and CEO Dr. Piotr Oglaza tabled that report yesterday, which suggested the closure of their leased office locations in Almonte, Gananoque, Napanee, Perth, Kemptville and Trenton, as well as their owned office location in Cloyne.
An earlier document also suggested the closure of the Picton office. MyBancroftNow has inquired about the status of that office location.
The report concluded that over 85 per cent of the region’s population lives within a 30-minute drive to either one of their owned offices in Belleville, Brockville, Kingston, and Smiths Falls, or their leased office in Bancroft.
It stated that the rural branch offices are costing the health unit $550,000 annually to keep open, but they are underperforming in terms of usefulness.
The board did not vote to keep the office locations open permanently, but agreed to revisit the decision later next year.
