​Milne family donates $1-million to Kincardine Hospital campaign; lab named after Dr. Don Milne

The family of Dr. Donald Arthur Douglas Milne, who worked in Kincardine for many years, has donated $1-million to the Kincardine Hospital capital campaign.

Several members were on hand at the first annual Donor Appreciation event, held Wednesday afternoon, at the Kincardine Pavilion.

As the donation was announced, the family was thrilled to see a banner unveiled, welcoming everyone to the “Dr. D.A.D. Milne Laboratory” at the hospital.

Milne’s daughter, Christine, chairperson of the Nicol Foundation which funded the family’s donation, told the crowd of about 100 that her father practised medicine in Kincardine for 30 years.

“He built the first medical clinic here,” she said, “and he recruited almost all the doctors who came to town. He’d be thrilled to see the young doctors who have come to work in Kincardine.

“The Kincardine Hospital was a second home for him, and he would be excited about the rebuild. He worked here before and after the nuclear plant came to town and he saw the huge impact it had. Thank you to Bruce Power for its continued support of the hospital.”

She said the recognition of their father, with his name on the lab, is greatly appreciated. “We are thrilled to be part of this process.”

Joining her for the presentation, were her husband, Jim Nicol, founder of the Nicol Foundation, president Neil Nicol, secretary-treasurer Alice Milne, Sara Milne and Dan Milne.

Hosted by the Kincardine and Community Health Care Foundation and ambassadors with the capital campaign, the event featured three speakers: Nancy Shaw, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre; Kincardine physician, Dr. Owen Montpellier; and Eric Chassard, president and CEO of Bruce Power.

Each speaker was asked several questions during an informal fireside chat, with foundation president Becky Fair talking with Shaw; ambassador Heather Finnie talking with Montpellier; and campaign manager Mark Womack talking with Chassard.

Shaw said she has been president and CEO of the health centre for a year-and-a-half, and has seen a number of accomplishments during that time. Among them, were building relationships with the staff and patients at all four hospital sites, including Kincardine, Walkerton, Durham and Chesley, as well as supporting access to health care, and making quality improvements.

She said it’s an exciting time with the redevelopment at the Kincardine Hospital, working through the phases with the Ontario Ministry of Health. Currently, the project is at Stage 3.1 and is moving into the design phase which will take nine months to a year. Once the ministry approves the design, it will move to Phase 4 and then Phase 5 which is the construction period. Hopefully by 2027, there will be shovels in the ground, she said.

Shaw said the major challenge is to keep the project moving along, and updating the community. “The waiting game is part of the process.”

As to the future, she said the health centre’s strategic plan expires in 2025, so it will be working on public engagement to draw up a new plan for the next five years.



Heather Finnie (left) talks with Dr. Owen Montpellier at the Donor Appreciation event, Wednesday afternoon

Montpellier told the crowd that he and his family have settled in nicely, having moved here nine months ago. He and his wife have two daughters, aged four and six, and they all love the beach and the lake.

He said that medicine was not his first choice for a career. He was studying kinesiology with the idea of becoming a personal trainer. However, when he was working in physical therapy, he was attracted to the medical part. He initially was going to be an orthopedic surgeon, but then switched gears and found he preferred family medicine.

When asked what changes he would make at the Kincardine Hospital, he joked that he’d like to have the coffee shop open at 7 a.m.!

“The most important part is the redevelopment of the emergency department,” he said. “We need it structured so that it’s safe and efficient. Right now, it’s more like a trailer, with most services at the one end. It needs to be revamped.”

He would also like to see an end to paper charting.

Montpellier gave a shout-out to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Sudbury where he studied.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “They’re training doctors in northern Ontario with the hope that they’ll stay there or move to rural and remote areas. The program is multi-faceted.”

As to arriving in Kincardine, Montpellier said he and his family came here in January just ahead of a major storm that closed the roads. He is familiar with the area, having camped in Inverhuron when he was 10 years old.

He enjoys music and was no sooner hired, then Dr. Jason Murray enlisted him to join the band, “Local Anesthesia,” and be part of the annual Rock With Your Docs concert. He also likes cooking.

Chassard was welcomed to the fireside chat by Womack who announced the newly-named “Bruce Power Imaging Department,” recognizing the company’s major donation to the capital campaign and its continuing support.

The new president and CEO of Bruce Power, Chassard just became a Canadian citizen on Canada Day. He and his wife live in Port Elgin.

Since taking on his new position, he has been quite busy with the refurbishment of the site. He said Bruce Power’s success is based on its solid relationship with the community, and that means giving back to the community that supports you.

He said the three major challenges in this region, are affordable housing, health care, and education. And these are among the main reasons that people would want to move to the area to work.

Chassard mentioned the proposed Bruce “C” new build, and noted that the company cannot lose sight of the reactors that are currently in service. “We want everyone to want this new reactor, and everyone to benefit from it. We want the benefit to be here, so we need to get the infrastructure in place for it.”

In his closing remarks, Mike Diebel of the hospital foundation noted that the capital campaign sits at $9.6-million of the required $18-million for the redevelopment project.

“Thanks to all of our donors for supporting this campaign,” he said. “This is a $79-million project which will provide a new laboratory, improved imaging with the CT scanner and MRI, and a new emergency department. Everything will be state-of-the-art. It’s a big step forward for this community. It’s going to make a difference for everybody you know, and for you.

“We still have $8.5-million to go, but we have the momentum and the enthusiasm. Go out and spread the word during the Christmas holidays.”

Katie Grieve, also a member of the hospital foundation, said the Taylor Swift tickets that her family put up for sale, brought in $8,200 for the capital campaign. Four local moms bought the tickets for Friday’s concert.