Update for the Summit Wellness Centre
Fall/Winter 2023 - We recently held a Community Meeting to give a snapshot of the progress of the Summit Wellness Centre to date and what’s to come this Fall/Winter - and we would like to share this information with the rest of our donors and partners too!
As you know, we started talking about the idea of a Wellness Centre with all of you back in 2019, and we heard very clearly that having medical services here was really important.
We also heard from a lot of people that other services would be nice to have too - like more recreation programming, more seniors’ programs, more outreach programming, dental services and things like physio, pre- and post-op services for the Ross Memorial Hospital, a blood lab, and mental health supports.
It was incredibly gratifying that when we started talking to potential partners to deliver all of these important services, every single one of them said yes - we want to be a part of this!
We’re talking about the folks who are responsible for recruiting doctors in Kawartha Lakes. We’re talking about the Kawartha North Family Health Team, and Community Care City of Kawartha Lakes - who have incredible programs but many of them don't reach up here in this area very often. We’re also talking about the Ross Memorial Hospital, Coby Pharmacy, massage therapists, counselors, chiropractor, nutritionist and lots more. The new Ontario health team for Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton sees the Summit Wellness Centre as a part of the connected system of care for all of us in this region in the years to come.
This is all pretty exciting.
One of the most exciting times of all was when we hung up some thermometers in Coboconk Norland and Kirkfield, and invited everyone to help bring the Summit Wellness Centre to life. It was truly incredible that together we were able to raise more than $1 million in one year to show all the levels of government that people here are serious about the need for these services.
That brings us to now!
You may have seen how the site around the train station has been changing, getting ready for the construction of the new building (and if you haven’t seen it, we have enclosed some pictures for you).
At this time the train station has been carefully braced and moved to its temporary location (this was amazing to see!) and the old, failing foundation was removed just last week. The new larger foundation goes in this fall. Then we will see the train station move back onto its new foundation and we will start to see the new building come to life!
At the community meeting last week, we were very lucky to have the SWC architects with us. These folks are helping to lead the team to make sure we do this right - that we bring back the beauty of the train station and that the new building is designed in a way that feels welcoming and functional and beautiful as it serves the needs of the small communities here. At the meeting, they walked us through the design of the building and led us through the story of why it's designed the way it is. If you are interested in this information, we’d be happy to share it with you too!
There is a lot more work to be done and we continue to raise funds for the building, equipment and furniture for the Summit Wellness Centre.
We hope we have given you a snapshot of our progress so far and where we are headed next. The enthusiasm from the community to make this happen is incredible and we are well on our way towards opening the doors in Spring/Summer 2025 to this place that is going to mean so much to all of us.
Warm regards,
Jennifer Wilson Ian Forster, P.Eng
Operations Director, SWC Chair, CNACC
jwilson@coboconknorland.ca Chair, SWC
www.SummitWellnessCentre.ca
