HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-11-13, Page 1Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1996 700 + 50 GS1750 Vol. 12 No 45
Lest we forget
With snow blowing, Remembrance Day services were held throughout the area on Monday.
In Brussels, representatives from the Legion, Ladies Auxiliary, Cadets, and Guideing and
Scouting groups laid wreaths in memory of those who gave their lives during the World
Wars. Here Carol Thronton, president of the Brussels Ladies Auxiliary and Eric Ross,
Legion president pay tribute at the cenotaph service.
End of landfill doesn't mean
start of savings for taxpayers
Homecoming committee
does investigative work to
locate former students
See page 2
Brussels Bulls charge on
with 2 more victories in
weekend action
See page 8
F.E. Madill holds
meetings to discuss
education reform
See page 24
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
Blyth and area residents were
filled with questions, some tinged
with anger, as members of the Clin-
ton Public Hospital (CPH) Task
Force explained possible outcomes
of hospital restructuring at the
information session, Nov. 5.
More than 60 people, many of
them seniors, attended the meeting
at Blyth Memorial Hall, to hear
what may happen with Huron
County hospitals after the
province's announced 18 per cent
reduction in funding.
The previous week, a group of
concerned citizens from Clinton,
formed an action committee to sup-
port county hospitals in their bid to
remain open, restructure on their
own terms and encourage commu-
nity action against the closure of
facilities. Members of the task
force are attending council and
board meetings as well as hosting
public sessions to inform residents.
The Huron-Perth District Health
Council (HPDHC) is presently
gathering information from focus
groups in order to develop three
options for restructuring, reduced
to one by mid-December. That
option will be presented at open
houses held in December and Jan-
uary with tfie.plan going to the
ministry's-commission at the end of
January. -
In describing the restructuring
process, Marg Makins, a member
of the HPDHC and CPH, said
health council members will not be
attending public session to gather
input. They will be developing the
three options within their group of
20 doctors, consumers, labour rep-
resentatives and health care work-
ers from across the district.
"We will be restructuring to meet
the future needs of the people.
Quality, accessibility and co-ordi-
nation are the key components."
"Managing change is everyone's
job," said Makins. "If change is
ignored it will slam into you and
throw you of balance. Don't sit
around talking about the good old
days. We can't run away. We have
to face the problem and find the
opportunity."
Residents were given a rundown
on the business of CPH, its busy
units, quality care and modern,
updated equipment, by Chief Exec-
utive Officer Allan Halls.
CPH has 41 beds, 33 active and
eight for chronic care. There are
12,000 emergency room visits each
year as well as 900 surgical proce-
dures, 7,200 days of active patient
care, 175 deliveries in obstetrics,
An error appeared in the "JK may
be history" story on the front page
of the Nov. 6 issue of The Citizen.
The 32 children allowed in junior
kindergarten classes is not a negoti-
ated item in the collective agree-
ment. Class size is generated by a
7,200 x-rays, 6,000 ultrasounds,
2,000 clinic visits, 74,000 lab tests
and 5,000 physiotherapist duties.
"The obstetric unit is very busy,"
said Halls. "It is our flagship, serv-
ing approximately 15,000 people."
The hospital is also in high
demand, said Halls, because 17 to
18 per cent of the population in the
district is over 65.
The excellent quality of care and
medical work force, including
numerous visiting specialists was
listed as other CPH strong points.
To increase that strength, Halls said
the hospital is actively searching
for new doctors, particularly one
who would be interested in setting
up a practice in Blyth.
The village will lose its last
physician when Dr. Hay closes his
Queen Street office, Nov. 28.
In terms of CPH finances, Halls
said of the annual $6 million bud-
get, 90 per cent comes from the
ministry, with 75 per cent of the
total spent on payroll for 133
employees. "We have good com-
munity support which contributes
$150,000 annually to the facility,"
Halls said.
When considering the closure of
a Huron or Perth hospital, Halls
said there must be thought given to
'the fact that they are one of the
largest employers in the district.
"Closure would have a significant
economic impact." In answering a
question from the gallery, Halls
said the lack of a hospital could
also create a problem in attracting
and keeping physicians. "It would
be up to each doctor to apply for
privileges and consider the practi-
cality of having to travel greater
distances to get to a hospital. Hos-
pital visits are already the most
time consuming, for the least
money."
Quality of care, modern equip-
ment and facilities, geographic
location, good financial position,
strong community support, young
medical staff and a willingness to
co-operate with other county hospi-
tals to save money, are all strength
shown by CPH, said Halls.
"We strongly support a well-
planned strategy for restructuring,
said Dick Snell, vice-chair of the
CPH board. "We will be meeting
with the four other Huron County
hospitals in mid-November, know-
ing there will be some changes, but
we want to see all patient services
maintained. We have to decide
what are the community priorities
because we can't maintain them
all."
Both Snell and Carol Mitchell,
Clinton reeve, encouraged residents
Continued on page 6
staffing formula which is presented
to the federation, by the board of
education. The grievance occurred
when class numbers superceded the
collective agreement, which is not
the same as staffing formula num-
bers.
Huron County council may have
killed the proposal for a county
landfill site but taxpayers won't see
any immediate savings on their tax
bill because the money set aside for
the project will be reallocated to
other capital projects.
County council voted, Thursday,
to reallocate the $1.25 million set
aside each year for development of
a waste management site to a capi-
tal fund for road improvements,
capital repairs for county buildings
and costs associated with setting up
zoned landfill sites in Morris Twp.
and Exeter.
Although the motion passed,
some councillors expressed distress
at the move. "I plead with this
council that we don't just transfer
this money across the board to
departments before we look at pri-
orities," Mickle said.
Council needs to take a serious
look at what priorities it has in
spending, he said. Perhaps some
services could be better provided
by privatization or out-sourcing.
Bill Vanstone, reeve of Colbome
Twp. said he had had three of his
township residents that very morn-
ing ask him what would happen
with the savings now that a county
landfill site isn't needed. Instead of
taxpayers seeing a saving, he said,
Continued on page /
Community rallying
to fight for hospital
Clarifying JK issue