A hospital transfer for premature labor and delivery has left a mom stuck with a $30,000 bill. When Alberta mom to be Amy Savill went to Timmins to visit with family she believed that she still had two months to go in her pregnancy. When Savill went into early labor she was rushed to Timmins and District Hospital, but eventually had to be transported using an air ambulance to another facility because the local hospital was not equipped to handle the medical needs of her premature labor and delivery. Since Savill is not an Ontario resident the cost of the air ambulance is not covered by the province, leaving her stuck with the bill for $30,000. Ontario Council of Hospital Unions president Michael Hurley said “Timmins has greatly reduced hospital capacity as a result of recent bed and service cuts. Air ambulance services have been privatized. Northern Ontario is particularly hard hit by the hospital cutbacks because of its geography. Ms. Savill simply had the misfortune to be at the centre of all of these factors. Ontario owes her an apology and should cover these costs.”
After the story broke about the premature labor, hospital transfer, and the $30,000 bill the hospital released the following statement “Not every service, equipment, or trained staff is available at the Timmins and District Hospital and like many hospitals, TADH uses an established provincial referral process to connect patients to the required level of care.” The Toronto Star first ran the story, and it originally reported that the hospital was clear with Savill that they did not have the staff or equipment needed to handle a birth that was more than one month premature.