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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2004-10-13, Page 3News Residents concerned with hospital's future From Pogo 1 Huron East councillor Joe Steffler said he was afraid the Seaforth hospital is going to share the fate of Seaforth District High School. "They kept taking away courses and then they closed the school. If they take away beds, we won't be viable in two years," he said. Alliance chair Ron Bolton acknowledged Seaforth's loss of its high school but added that many small communities are worried they'll lose their hospitals. "It's happening all over rural Ontario but we have your best interests at heart here. I have a passion for rural Ontario. Rest assured we are not taking the decision lightly and have not made a decision," he said. Frances Teatero, a longtime member of the Seaforth Hospital Auxiliary, said she thought the people of Seaforth should be angry. "I don't want to see Seaforth close and I'm one hell of a fighter. I'm going to Toronto to give them a piece of my mind," she said. Kevin Kale also warned the Alliance against scenario two. "If the ministry (of health) sees someone with just six beds and an emergency, I'd be afraid you don't have an option as to whether you close it or they close it," he said. Carolanne Doig asked how many staff members at Seaforth hospital will lose their jobs. "The hospital has been an employer for the community over the years. It's one of the reasons people can come here and live and work," she said. Alliance chief executive officer Andrew Williams said 50-60 staff members across the Alliance "will be directly affected" by the cost cutting but added it wasn't yet determined how Seaforth would be specifically affected. "Our goal is to minimize lay-offs and use early exit plans," he said. Doig also asked whether the province would not consider continuing care beds necessary if it is only focussing on surgery and acute care in hospitals. "If that's not a hospital's mandate, would the funding be there for chronic care beds? Then what will happen to the emergency if the hospital becomes a senior citizen's home?" she asked. Williams responded that hospitals will continue need continuing care beds as patients move through the different levels of care in the hospital. B u t Edwards was less optimistic. "In my mind, the provincial government's mandate does not include chronic care beds and I see no reason why the numbers would not continue to decline," he said. Maureen Agar wanted to know if Seaforth could generate revenue by offering to hip replacements to Americans and expressed fear that the' province is trying to "get rid of rural Quoted 'In my mind, the provincial government mandate does not include chronic care beds and I see no reason why the numbers would not continue to decline,' -- Dr. Shawn Edwards support of hospital. He suggested that everyone areas. "1 think if we stopped running the food into urban areas, they'd see how important rural areas are. We've got to start circling the wagons and protect ourselves," she said. Beaven pointed out that while the Alliance has seen more than 800 people at its four open houses, half of that number attended in the Seaforth Jason Middleton photo Dr. Tom Gray, of Seaforth, poses a question to the panel at Wednesdays meeting which attracted more than 400 people. Mitchell says hospital `closure fears unfounded' By Cheryl Heath News -Record Staff Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell believes trust is something that is earned. That is why the MPP understands why her constituency office has been receiving calls as of late over concerns about the possibility of the closure of the Clinton and Seaforth hospitals. T h e important point to note, she says, is those fears are including one at the Clinton Legion last Monday and a similar one in Seaforth. In Seaforth, however, residents were so incensed by the style of the meeting -- that is a stop -and -go session rather than a town hall -style formula -- that the Alliance was compelled to hold another forum, on Wednesday night. Mitchell says her office has fielded about a dozen calls from Clinton and Seaforth residents uoted 'We all have to learn to live within our means,'-- Huron-IIruca MPP Carol Mitchell unfounded. Those rumours come on the heels of the Huron -Perth Health Care Alliance's recent announcement that $7 million in savings must be found in order to meet provincial standards that require all hospitals to formulate plans to ensure balanced budgets. Though the deadline for each hospital's plan was first set for October, the Alliance has been given an Oct. 29 extension. In the interim, the Alliance has held information meetings in the four communities it serves, concerned about what the budget cuts mean. "This is not about the closure of hospitals," says Mitchell. "(Alliance C.E.O.) Andrew Williams has made this very clear as well. This is about a realignment of services." Mitchell says the province's new multi-year funding . formula is designed to ensure hospitals can make long- term plans rather than the past practice of budgeting year to year. The new formula also puts a stop to privatization of health-care services and compels hospitals to trim administrative costs where possible. she says. The key. says Mitchell, is accountability. "We all have to learn to live within our means," she says, noting health-care costs consume about 50 per cent of the provincial budget. Mitchell says her personal preference for information meetings is the town hall -style format, but adds the most important thing is to get the word out that the hospitals arc here to stay. "The question is did people receive enough information. That's what is important to me," she says. "Thc bottom Zinc is people want to know that the hospital will he there and there will he doctors." Mitchell says the current funding formula for rural hospitals requires review and that is something the government will he looking at in the months to come. "The funding formula nced5 to encompass rural hospitals," she says, adding they arc different from the those in urban centres because their roots were sown by the communities that funded them long before universal health care was in place. in the audience place a phone call to their provincial member of parliament to lodge a complaint about the hospital funding formula. "We are not only talking about protecting the viability of a hospital but of protecting the viability of a community," he said. His recommendation was reiterated by Bolton Who encouraged a letter or personal phone care to either Perth -Middlesex MPI' John Wilkinson Or Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell. 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