Niagara Health Offering Free Parking For Patients And Visitors Over The Holidays

A News Release from Niagara Health, Niagara, Ontario’s amalgamated system of hospitals Posted December 13^th, 2022 on Niagara At Large

A Foreword by Doug Draper at Niagara At Large –

Before I post this news below, let me just say this – What a magnanimous gesture on our system of hospitals’ part. How nice that during the end-of-the-year holiday season, they offer free parking at their hospital lots across Niagara for patients and their families. What about the rest of the year when they employ obscenely high hospital fees to us as one of a number of a growing battery of user fees inside their hospitals to make up for our federal and provincial governments continuing to underfund our hospitals in the wake of fake tax cuts.

Parking at the Welland/Niagara hospital site. How nice of Niagara Health to wave obscene parking fees during the holiday season.

And how nice as the executives of these hospitals continue to rake in huger and huger salaries and benefits while frontline health care workers in and outside hospitals continue to get ripped off and burned out. So what are we supposed to do with this news of free parking at hospitals over the holiday season – bend down and kiss someone’s backside? Those of us out there who are foolish enough to continue voting for federal and provincial governments that promise tax cuts, should know that the fallout from those cuts is getting kicked in the backside with ever higher user fees that hurt us all – including lower income people who can least affort to pay them. In the meantime, why aren’t our hospital systems in Niagara and elsewhere spending more of their time joining citizen groups across this province and country in fighting for more government funding for hospitals?

Now here is the news release from Niagara Health –

What choice do patients and their families but to pay exhorbitant parking fees at this out-of-the-way hospital site in west St. Catharines

As a way to give back to our community this holiday season, Niagara Health is offering free parking for patients and visitors at all five sites starting Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. Parking fees will resume on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023 at 12:01 a.m. “We understand that coming to the hospital can be a stressful and upsetting experience, especially during the holidays,” says Angela Zangari, Executive Vice-President, Finance, Redevelopment and Support Services, Chief Financial Officer at Niagara Health. “We hope that alleviating the cost of parking is a small step to help make the experience a little bit easier this holiday season.” Revenue generated through parking services helps to purchase much-needed healthcare equipment used at Niagara Health sites across the region. Parking revenue is also used to maintain lots, keeping them safe for patients and visitors coming to our sites, as well as our staff, physicians and volunteers. Staff access remains unchanged during this time. For parking rates and other information, visit Niagara Health’s parking page<https://www.niagarahealth.on.ca/site/parking>.

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