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Huron Expositor, 2004-10-13, Page 2• WHYTE BROS. FARMS LTD. is ready to receive your 2004 CORN and SOYBEAN CROP CUSTOM COMBINING and TRUCKING SERVICES AVAILABLE Mill 519-527-1143 RR #2 PHONE Residence 519-527-0349 Seaforth • IRWIN PHYSIOTHERAPY OFFERS EDUCATION & EXERCISE PROGRAMS Register now for Postpartum Health Pilates-based exercise for new (and not -so -new) moms Call for Details: 527-1551 Or visit us at the Seaforth Community Health Centre 28 Centennial Drive, Seaforth Moo Services covered by WSIB, Auto Insurance or Extended Health Benefits. News THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Oat. 13, 2004-2 • Alliance board opts to cut 47 beds from area hospitals By Donal O'Connor Stratford Beacon Herald Staff Senior management of the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance will be working on the alliance s balanced budget plan based on a total reduction of 47 beds within the four -hospital group. The proposed bed reduction, based on Scenario 3 as presented at public meetings held in Stratford, St. Marys, Clinton and Seaforth, was endorsed by the alliance board last night with just one dissenting vote. Alliance chief executive officer Andrew Williams asked the board to consider the bed cuts so management could focus its energy on other aspects of the budget plan aimed at reducing projected expenditures by about $7 million next year. No matter which one (scenario) we go with, we re going to have a lot of the same issues, he said, acknowledging the proposed bed reductions have been a major issue for all the hospital sites. The proposed bed reductions would see Stratford retain 125 beds while Clinton, Seaforth and St. Marys hospitals would retain 15 beds each. The bed counts are consistent with the average bed occupancies at each of the hospitals. In his report to the board, The Seaforth Business Improvement Association & The Huron Expositor present the 2004 N U E HAUNTED Get in the Halloween spirit and dress up your house in its scariest outdoor decorations. You could win one of these spooktecular prizes: First Place: Plus, the top scariest homes will be pictured in The Huron Expositor Halloween edition on October 27! Call 521-0240 before , October 22 to moister your home In our Haunted House Contest. Houses will be judged before October 25, 2004 Williams noted the proposed reductions overstate the actual impact because there are a number of beds - probably half - that are regularly unstaffed. Management needed to factor bed reduction savings into the budget plan, he said, in order to focus on other aspects of the plan, including confirming efficiencies, defining outpatient services recommended for divestment to the community and/or redistribution within the hospital group. The changes are obviously going to cause challenges, but we know that. they are required if we are to meet our financial obligation to balance operations, he said. The cuts would leave Stratford General Hospital with 18 fewer beds, Seaforth Community Hospital with 19 fewer, St. Marys Memorial Hospital would lose six beds and Clinton Public Hospital would lose four. Williams noted about 900 members of the public attended open houses held Monday and Tuesday and another 400 attended a community forum Wednesday in Seaforth. At the Stratford meeting, a petition with 4,500 names had urged the board not to relocate continuing -care and rehabilitation beds from the Stratford hospital, he said. We need to keep the pressure on local MPPs, said Williams, suggesting that local grassroots support is likely the most effective way of influencing the provincial government. Williams made the comment after board member Dave Rae questioned whether the Ontario Hospital Association is fully in tune with the needs of rural hospitals. He said he had the impression the OHAs agenda is driven more by the needs of large urban hospitals than by rural hospitals. Dr. Shawn Edwards of the Seaforth site also suggested the special circumstances of rural hospitals may be underplayed. Health-care reductions in smaller communities can have major economic and cultural consequences, he noted. Williams assured the board that point would be addressed in the alliance s budget plan submitted. to the Health Ministry. The bed reductions are aimed at a savings of $2.05 million. The hospital group is looking at identifying efficiencies beyond that aimed at saving ati additional $3 million. Williams also outlined for the hoard a number of assumptions that are inherent in the budget plan. They include allowances for salary increases expected in wage contracts involving the ONA, dPSEU and CUPE, the unions representing three groups of hospital employees. The assumptions include the hospital meeting certain service efficiencies such as minimizing hospital stays for patients, restructuring costs and inflation beyond wage increases. A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday next week with Ministry of Health officials, Williams informed the board. The final budget plan will be presented to the alliance board for consideration at a special meeting prior to the Oct. 29 submission date required by the Health Ministry. Bob Norris of Seaforth voted against the proposed bed reduction plan, noting that the community and physicians said they preferred a different option. However, Edwards said that although physicians, including himself, would have preferred a different option, the recommended one is acceptable. On balance, we re suggesting that s the best of a number of difficult bed decisions, he said. Regardless of 'what the board decides in its final budget plan, the bed reductions are subject to approval from the ministry. Recruitment dinner held hoping to attract three potential doctors By Jason Middleton Expositor Staff A family doctor recruitment dinner held last Tuesday evening introduced community leaders to three potential family doctors looking for a place to start a family practice. The goal of the dinner, attended by three potential family doctors, local Huron Perth Hospital Alliance, hospital foundation members and members of Seaforth Community Trust members, was to try and recruit the doctors to Seaforth. This evening is an all-out effort to recruit some new physicians to Seaforth, said local hospital recruiter Gwcn Devereaux, adding that Seaforth needs three to provide care for the 1,200 to 1,500 orphan patients in the area. We arc not unlike any other community, said Devereaux. H. REID ALLEN 1 110.1Il RI IlI'.ti l.()It.V 1'I()ti RI;FI\ISIIIN(: SEAFORTH 527-2717 ;UfaG�I�G r 2):.1 j,At ✓/, • Citizen of the Year Awards ;.t recognize the best of outoung people. If you know a young *son, aged 6 toll, who is kniolvd in worthwhile community service; !special person who is contributing whthe living with a Iin notion; a youth `+!rhe hos performed an ad of heroism; oro "good kid' who commitment to moking Rh better for others, doing more than is expelled of someone their age - help us recognite their conlri ', laminate them today! , files adises wN he wafted ad November 30. LsNsd tdhk newspaper sr the Weds Grsrwtity Newspapers Asadsllo st wwwsan.sr0 w 905439-8720.' ONTARIO JUNIOR CTTIZF.N 111 me YEAR AWARDS . IMO "� art+,PPP 4: 9rafr T inb77r MMrGd tattle?! www.4ane.org ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE - NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY! Every one of my communities is seeking one to two (family physicians) minimally. Devereaux said that Seaforth is now designated under serviced community which means that newly recruited doctors who stay in town for a year will be paid a $15,000 relocation pay and a $40,000 tuition bonus. We re thrilled that we have that in place because that certainly helps communities, said Devereaux. Dr. Tracy Chin said that she is looking for a small community somewhere in the vicinity of her hometown of Kitchener. I want a community in which as a family doctor I can be a part of seeing patients in the office, as well as seeing them in the emergency department and managing them in hospital, said Chin, who is currently filling in for Dr. Dan Rooyakkers who on vacation. I Tike the fact that a community is small enough that family doctors are available to have that wide a scope, she said. Chin said that she can picture herself working in a small community within Huron -Perth. Dr. Zubair Lakhani, who filled in at the Seaforth Medical Clinic this summer, said he would like to work in some different communities before he makes a decision on where to start his family practice. My plan is, I m going to visit a whole bunch of different communities and work in them all for four weeks, said Lakhani, who plans on working in Wiarton, Durham, Hanover, Southampton and Goderich before making his decision. I m only looking at communities that 1 would think of staying in, he said. It doesn t make sense going where you re not at least partially interested. Dr. Sean Emami, who has practiced in northern Ontario, said that he is looking for a close community to begin his career as a family doctor. While he said that most communities are the same, he is just going to feel things out. I m talking with people to see if I m a good fit, said Emami. Huronlea looking for new director of personal care By Jennifer Jackson Goderich Signal -Star Staff Huronlea is on the lookout for a new director of care after an annual compliance review found the county - owned long term care facility in Brussels was cited for inadequate director hours onsite. A total of five unmet standards were cited by Cecil McIntyre, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care compliance advisor, during the Aug. 30 compliance review. Currently the county director of care works full- time (40 hours per week), covering 119 beds at Huronview, in Clinton, and 63 beds at Huronlea. According to Long Term Care Facilities Standards, a minimum of 64 hours iso required onsite across the two homes — at least 40 at Huronview and 24 at Huronlea. The county has been given until Nov. 19 to meet the 64 - hour standard. A plan was developed in cooperation with the current director of care, nursing supervisors, human resources department and treasury. Council members met to discuss the plan prior to their Oct. 7 meeting. "We've had one person in charge of running both homes for awhile," Bernie MacLellan (Huron East) said. "Why do they have to be in the actual building?" Acting administrator and county homes operations manager Nancy Kalbfleisch told council there was no other course of action. "We are in contravention and we have to meet the requirement by Nov.' 19. If we don't comply, the Ministry of Health will come in and take over the director of care position," she said. SEAFORTH INSURANCE jibe BROKER LTD. 527-1610 "14 ..„ ''' ,. . - • Home • Commercial *Auto • Farm • Out of Province Travel Insurance 41 Main St. S. Seaforth Ken Cardno, Joanne {Williamson, Chrism O'Neil and Barb Wan WHYTE BROS. FARMS LTD. is ready to receive your 2004 CORN and SOYBEAN CROP CUSTOM COMBINING and TRUCKING SERVICES AVAILABLE Mill 519-527-1143 RR #2 PHONE Residence 519-527-0349 Seaforth • IRWIN PHYSIOTHERAPY OFFERS EDUCATION & EXERCISE PROGRAMS Register now for Postpartum Health Pilates-based exercise for new (and not -so -new) moms Call for Details: 527-1551 Or visit us at the Seaforth Community Health Centre 28 Centennial Drive, Seaforth Moo Services covered by WSIB, Auto Insurance or Extended Health Benefits. News THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Oat. 13, 2004-2 • Alliance board opts to cut 47 beds from area hospitals By Donal O'Connor Stratford Beacon Herald Staff Senior management of the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance will be working on the alliance s balanced budget plan based on a total reduction of 47 beds within the four -hospital group. The proposed bed reduction, based on Scenario 3 as presented at public meetings held in Stratford, St. Marys, Clinton and Seaforth, was endorsed by the alliance board last night with just one dissenting vote. Alliance chief executive officer Andrew Williams asked the board to consider the bed cuts so management could focus its energy on other aspects of the budget plan aimed at reducing projected expenditures by about $7 million next year. No matter which one (scenario) we go with, we re going to have a lot of the same issues, he said, acknowledging the proposed bed reductions have been a major issue for all the hospital sites. The proposed bed reductions would see Stratford retain 125 beds while Clinton, Seaforth and St. Marys hospitals would retain 15 beds each. The bed counts are consistent with the average bed occupancies at each of the hospitals. In his report to the board, The Seaforth Business Improvement Association & The Huron Expositor present the 2004 N U E HAUNTED Get in the Halloween spirit and dress up your house in its scariest outdoor decorations. You could win one of these spooktecular prizes: First Place: Plus, the top scariest homes will be pictured in The Huron Expositor Halloween edition on October 27! Call 521-0240 before , October 22 to moister your home In our Haunted House Contest. Houses will be judged before October 25, 2004 Williams noted the proposed reductions overstate the actual impact because there are a number of beds - probably half - that are regularly unstaffed. Management needed to factor bed reduction savings into the budget plan, he said, in order to focus on other aspects of the plan, including confirming efficiencies, defining outpatient services recommended for divestment to the community and/or redistribution within the hospital group. The changes are obviously going to cause challenges, but we know that. they are required if we are to meet our financial obligation to balance operations, he said. The cuts would leave Stratford General Hospital with 18 fewer beds, Seaforth Community Hospital with 19 fewer, St. Marys Memorial Hospital would lose six beds and Clinton Public Hospital would lose four. Williams noted about 900 members of the public attended open houses held Monday and Tuesday and another 400 attended a community forum Wednesday in Seaforth. At the Stratford meeting, a petition with 4,500 names had urged the board not to relocate continuing -care and rehabilitation beds from the Stratford hospital, he said. We need to keep the pressure on local MPPs, said Williams, suggesting that local grassroots support is likely the most effective way of influencing the provincial government. Williams made the comment after board member Dave Rae questioned whether the Ontario Hospital Association is fully in tune with the needs of rural hospitals. He said he had the impression the OHAs agenda is driven more by the needs of large urban hospitals than by rural hospitals. Dr. Shawn Edwards of the Seaforth site also suggested the special circumstances of rural hospitals may be underplayed. Health-care reductions in smaller communities can have major economic and cultural consequences, he noted. Williams assured the board that point would be addressed in the alliance s budget plan submitted. to the Health Ministry. The bed reductions are aimed at a savings of $2.05 million. The hospital group is looking at identifying efficiencies beyond that aimed at saving ati additional $3 million. Williams also outlined for the hoard a number of assumptions that are inherent in the budget plan. They include allowances for salary increases expected in wage contracts involving the ONA, dPSEU and CUPE, the unions representing three groups of hospital employees. The assumptions include the hospital meeting certain service efficiencies such as minimizing hospital stays for patients, restructuring costs and inflation beyond wage increases. A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday next week with Ministry of Health officials, Williams informed the board. The final budget plan will be presented to the alliance board for consideration at a special meeting prior to the Oct. 29 submission date required by the Health Ministry. Bob Norris of Seaforth voted against the proposed bed reduction plan, noting that the community and physicians said they preferred a different option. However, Edwards said that although physicians, including himself, would have preferred a different option, the recommended one is acceptable. On balance, we re suggesting that s the best of a number of difficult bed decisions, he said. Regardless of 'what the board decides in its final budget plan, the bed reductions are subject to approval from the ministry. Recruitment dinner held hoping to attract three potential doctors By Jason Middleton Expositor Staff A family doctor recruitment dinner held last Tuesday evening introduced community leaders to three potential family doctors looking for a place to start a family practice. The goal of the dinner, attended by three potential family doctors, local Huron Perth Hospital Alliance, hospital foundation members and members of Seaforth Community Trust members, was to try and recruit the doctors to Seaforth. This evening is an all-out effort to recruit some new physicians to Seaforth, said local hospital recruiter Gwcn Devereaux, adding that Seaforth needs three to provide care for the 1,200 to 1,500 orphan patients in the area. We arc not unlike any other community, said Devereaux. H. REID ALLEN 1 110.1Il RI IlI'.ti l.()It.V 1'I()ti RI;FI\ISIIIN(: SEAFORTH 527-2717 ;UfaG�I�G r 2):.1 j,At ✓/, • Citizen of the Year Awards ;.t recognize the best of outoung people. If you know a young *son, aged 6 toll, who is kniolvd in worthwhile community service; !special person who is contributing whthe living with a Iin notion; a youth `+!rhe hos performed an ad of heroism; oro "good kid' who commitment to moking Rh better for others, doing more than is expelled of someone their age - help us recognite their conlri ', laminate them today! , files adises wN he wafted ad November 30. LsNsd tdhk newspaper sr the Weds Grsrwtity Newspapers Asadsllo st wwwsan.sr0 w 905439-8720.' ONTARIO JUNIOR CTTIZF.N 111 me YEAR AWARDS . IMO "� art+,PPP 4: 9rafr T inb77r MMrGd tattle?! www.4ane.org ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE - NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY! Every one of my communities is seeking one to two (family physicians) minimally. Devereaux said that Seaforth is now designated under serviced community which means that newly recruited doctors who stay in town for a year will be paid a $15,000 relocation pay and a $40,000 tuition bonus. We re thrilled that we have that in place because that certainly helps communities, said Devereaux. Dr. Tracy Chin said that she is looking for a small community somewhere in the vicinity of her hometown of Kitchener. I want a community in which as a family doctor I can be a part of seeing patients in the office, as well as seeing them in the emergency department and managing them in hospital, said Chin, who is currently filling in for Dr. Dan Rooyakkers who on vacation. I Tike the fact that a community is small enough that family doctors are available to have that wide a scope, she said. Chin said that she can picture herself working in a small community within Huron -Perth. Dr. Zubair Lakhani, who filled in at the Seaforth Medical Clinic this summer, said he would like to work in some different communities before he makes a decision on where to start his family practice. My plan is, I m going to visit a whole bunch of different communities and work in them all for four weeks, said Lakhani, who plans on working in Wiarton, Durham, Hanover, Southampton and Goderich before making his decision. I m only looking at communities that 1 would think of staying in, he said. It doesn t make sense going where you re not at least partially interested. Dr. Sean Emami, who has practiced in northern Ontario, said that he is looking for a close community to begin his career as a family doctor. While he said that most communities are the same, he is just going to feel things out. I m talking with people to see if I m a good fit, said Emami. Huronlea looking for new director of personal care By Jennifer Jackson Goderich Signal -Star Staff Huronlea is on the lookout for a new director of care after an annual compliance review found the county - owned long term care facility in Brussels was cited for inadequate director hours onsite. A total of five unmet standards were cited by Cecil McIntyre, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care compliance advisor, during the Aug. 30 compliance review. Currently the county director of care works full- time (40 hours per week), covering 119 beds at Huronview, in Clinton, and 63 beds at Huronlea. According to Long Term Care Facilities Standards, a minimum of 64 hours iso required onsite across the two homes — at least 40 at Huronview and 24 at Huronlea. The county has been given until Nov. 19 to meet the 64 - hour standard. A plan was developed in cooperation with the current director of care, nursing supervisors, human resources department and treasury. Council members met to discuss the plan prior to their Oct. 7 meeting. "We've had one person in charge of running both homes for awhile," Bernie MacLellan (Huron East) said. "Why do they have to be in the actual building?" Acting administrator and county homes operations manager Nancy Kalbfleisch told council there was no other course of action. "We are in contravention and we have to meet the requirement by Nov.' 19. If we don't comply, the Ministry of Health will come in and take over the director of care position," she said.