The Citizen, 2001-06-27, Page 90° FINANCING
AVAILABLE
FOR 1 YEAR
OAC
Call for details
Cub Cadet Lawn Tractors On Sale!
SALE PRICES
starting at
749.
Many models now
in stock in our showroom
www.teamvincent.com
1 Mile N. of Seaforth
(519) 527-0120
Cub rbaciPilk FARM EQUIPMENT LIMITED
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 2001, PAGE 9.
Site administrator reports on busy year at WDH
By Jim Brown
Wingham Advance-Times
A lot has happened at the
Wingham and District Hospital dur-
ing the past year.
Site Administrator Margret
Comack told the annual meeting of
the hospital last Thursday evening
that the local board has been able to
meet the challenges of the past year
through the hard work of its mem-
bers as well as the staff and physi-
cians of the hospital.
She said Wingham shares many
integrated services and systems
with the seven other hospitals
across the Huron Perth Hospitals
Partnership.
Because of the integration of
services and programs across the
partnership. the HPHP is highly
regarded throughout the province.
An integrated leadership team has
been implemented across the
Wingham and Listowel sites, with
four leaders sharing responsibilities
at both sites. The site specific lead-
ers work together on many issues
across the north system sites and
also within the partnership.
According to Comack, an external
review of the obstetrics program has
resulted in a comprehensive plan to
improve coordination of referrals
By Jim Brown
Wingham Advance-Times
Judith Gaunt of the Twp. of North
Huron was elected chairman of the
Wingham and District Hospital
Board for 2001-2002.
Jack Stafford of Howick Twp. was
elected as the vice chairman.
Re-elected to the board at the
annual meeting of the hospital board
last Thursday evening were Central
Zone representatives Mary Chippa
of the Town of Wingham and Gaunt.
Deborah Currie of the Twp. of
North Huron was elected as a direc-
tor at large.
Three members of the board were
presented with plaques of apprecia-
tion as their appointments have
expired. Plaques were presented to
Mary Lou Cameron of Wingham
after 12 years on the board, Donna
Moffat of Huron Kinloss after eight
years on the board and Don
McKague of South Bruce following
three years on the board.
A bylaw to amend the composition
of the board, according to municipal
restructuring and amalgamation was
Sorry,
our mistake
The name of the woman who
received her WI pin, shown in the
picture on page 9 of last week's issue
of The Citizen was Helen Topham.
We apologize for the error.
r
Your 1
Kids Safe
' — Learn 1
First Aid
kill
1 more
children under 19 than
all other clises of death
combined.
Call Red Cross for courses
near you.
+ Canadian Red Cross 1
and the clinical standards of care for
patients.
While the numbers continue to be
fairly low, the hospital is seeing an
increase in the number of deliveries
with the addition of new physicians.
"The emergency and ambulatory
care area has been redesigned to
facilitate the implementation of
provincial triage guidelines and to
provide visible access from the desk
area to the waiting room," she
said. "This is also a provincial stan-
dard from a coroner's recommenda-
tion."
Comack noted the volume of
scheduled visits has increased dra-
matically as a result of changes to
the on-call coverage for the ER and
physician practice patterns.
"We experience a significant
demand tor primary care through
the emergency department." she
said. "We are currently investigat-
ing this and will be developing
some processes to manage this bet-
ter. Long waiting times may be an
experience for some people who use
the ER."
The hospital has been seriously
challenged by the availability of
radiologists. However, this situation
was resolved in the early winter.
"We are fortunate to have good
support for this speciality as the
passed by the general membership.
Under the bylaw, former munici-
palities were grouped together in a
zone.
The Central Zone is comprised of
the former municipalities of the
Town of Wingham, the Village of
Blyth and the Twp. of East
Wawanosh.
The Western Zone is comprised of
the former municipalities of the
Village of Lucknow and the Twps. of
Kinloss, West Wawanosh and
Ashfield.
The Southeast Zone consists of the
former twps. of Morris and
Turnberry and the Village of
Brussels.
The Northeastern Zone is the geo-
graphic area of the Twp. of Howick
and the former municipalities of the
Village of Teeswater and the Twp. of
Culross.
Gaunt indicated the full impact of
the board restructuring won't be real-
Please Recycle
Taativ This Newspaper
'11:'GLOWINGZONCERN'
11111111110
Keep candles out of the
reach of children and pets.
Remember to snuff out your
candles if you are ,ms,,,<,
leaving the room
or going to bed. .4>WIP SAFE'r
shortage of radiologists across the
country is serious, even for the
urban centres," stated Comack.
She said renovations at the health
centre have been completed to
accommodate another physician.
The renovation is intended to attract
potential recruits as they visit.
Problems with the heating and insu-
lation in the building have been
resolved.
The hospital has committed close
to $1 million for the purchase of
digital radiology equipment. which
has assisted in recruiting a radiolo-
gist.
"Our existing equipment is out of
date and both service and parts are
not available," she said.
The site administrator said the
new equipment will provide the
capability of remote access. The
computerized equipment will also
reduce the need for developing film,
thus reducing the environmental
hazard of chemicals and the need
for film storage.
Despite the success of the hospital
during the past year, the govern-
ment seriously under-funded health
care last year. And, the situation is
worse this year as all hospitals in
the partnership have submitted
deficit budgets to the Ministry of
Health and Long-term Care.
ized for another year, when the terms
of present board members expire.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Gaunt, executive and finance com-
mittee chairman, said while the past
year was a challenging year for the
board, the coming year will be even
more challenging.
She said the increasing costs of
fuel and electricity come from the
hospital's actual operating budget
resulting in cutbacks being made
somewhere else.
This coming year will be another
year or challenges as major contracts
are coming due.
Check out The Citizen's
WEBSITE
at
www.northhuron.on.ca
The hospital has yet to find out if
its budget has been approved.
The last year has been challeng-
ing, with the weather of the past
winter being "something else", even
for a prairie girl like Comack.
She concluded by commending
staff for being committed to their
work and to the patients of the hos-
pital.
Injuries
Gaunt elected board chairman
Adding colour
Bill Bromley, North Huron's roads operator for Blyth
busy last week getting the hanging baskets up through
downtown.
was
LAWN
QUESTIONS?
Call...
Wenlialts
524-2424
You Can Make
a Difference
HUNTINGTON
DISEASE
f011t1Tir:IGTON
1-800-998-7398
www.hsc-ca.org