Image

April 26, 2017

The future of Petrolia’s Charlotte Eleanor Engelhart Hospital is secure.

Mike Lapaine, the president and chief operating officer of Bluewater Health, announced Wednesday morning the province has given $7.5 million for planning and the redevelopment of the rural hospital.

Bluewater Health wants to reconfigure the inside of CEEH to allow for a better environment for working. That will include redesigning and expanding the emergency department. It was designed to see 7,000 patients per year. Lapaine says now about 20,000 are served there.

Lapaine says residents won’t notice changes right away. The hospital is working on a long-term plan for health care and then redesigning CEEH for those needs. He says it will take years to complete the project.

There has not been a significant reinvestment in Petrolia for nearly 40 years and Lapaine sees this grant as a sign the province “believes in rural health care.”

He added the redevelopment of the rural hospital and the fact the Town of Petrolia is working on a health hub concept for the community could be a model for other rural communities in Ontario.

Mayor John McCharles was beaming at the announcement calling it “possibly the greatest day ever in this community.

“We’re going to keep the hospital, we’re going to preserve our hospital and keep it for a long, long time.”

For more on the announcment, see the May 4 edition of The Independent.

 

Share This

Image
Front Page

ICYMI: Record-breaking crowd at Alvinston Rodeo

June 20, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Like the movie says; if you build it, they will come. The Alvinston Pro Rodeo committee brought in larger stands hoping to accommodate visitors to the three-day event. Saturday night, those stands were filled and there were still people looking for seats according to Chairman Dan Cumming. Here’s just some of the action from the event:

Read More

Image
Front Page

Lambton Public Health issues first heat warning of the summer

June 20, 2025

FROM LAMBTON PUBLIC HEALTH With the prediction of hot and humid weather expected to start on Saturday,June 21 and continue into next week, Environment and Climate Change Canada is issuing a HeatWarning for Lambton County. Heat warnings are issued when two or more consecutive days of daytime maximum temperatures areexpected to reach 31°C or warmer and nighttime minimum temperatures are

Read More

Image
Front Page

Rural bus service starts making stops in Wyoming Monday

June 20, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Before there was money to bring a bus into Wyoming, Susan Mills was answering questions from residents about a new rural transit system. The Town of Plympton-Wyoming became a partner in the rural transit system called Huron Shores Area Transit earlier this spring. But service didn’t begin immediately. Lambton Shores, which runs the system, and its partners,

Read More

Image
Front Page

Why spend $20K to study a bridge to nowhere: McEwen

June 20, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Plympton-Wyoming Deputy Mayor Netty McEwen says it doesn’t make sense to spend $20,000 to study a bridge that goes nowhere. Paul daSilva, Director of Public Works, in a report to council June 11, suggested spending $40,000 to do Municipal Environmental Assessments on two low-traffic bridges, one on O’Brien Road, the other on Elmsley Road. “I took a

Read More