Recently, I had the pleasure of joining members of the Blenheim Medical Health Foundation, who unveiled plans to develop a local health hub which will provide primary, multi-disciplinary health care to a catchment area that extends well beyond the community of Blenheim to include rural areas of South Kent, Ridgetown and surrounding areas. This facility will house a wide range of health care professionals and services, including family physicians, nurse practitioners, diagnostic imaging personnel, laboratory, physiotherapy, pharmacy and mental health care services all under one roof.

I’m so proud of this community-driven grassroots movement, and I want to acknowledge members of the foundation, including Mr. Ed O’Brien, Ms. Joan Hackett, Ms. Cathy Smith, Dr. Andrew Lanz-O’Brien, and the countless Blenheim-area residents and businesses who supported them all.

I also want to acknowledge the extreme generosity of Peter and Annie Timmermans, who selflessly donated the beautiful 26,000-square-foot building—the former Andersons agri-business and research building on Hyland Drive—to house our future health care hub and make this dream of comprehensive rural health a reality. The collective effort will create a warm, welcoming, comprehensive and professional space to better support all rural residents, from young families to seniors, who are all being supported by a central integrated whole-person health care facility.