The Ontario Health Coalition released a report appealing for equity and improved access to hospital services in rural Ontario. The report “Toward Access and Equality: Realigning Ontario’s Approach to Small and Rural Hospitals to Serve Public Values” is based on input received from more than 1,150 people who attended 12 hearings in regions across Ontario in March 2010. The coalition organized its own public hearings after the government’s own rural and northern health panel, created after hospital closures in small and rural communities, refused to hold any public consultations. In total the coalition received 487 submissions into the state and future of local hospitals. Today’s report has been written and submitted to the Ontario Health Coalition by a non-partisan panel including doctors, nurses, health professionals, representatives of each region of Ontario, and representatives active in each political party.