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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2006-03-22, Page 4Pogo 4 March 22, 2006 • The Huron Expositor Opinion Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK IWO ospitals and long -terra -care facilities in Perth and Huron counties are facing a dilemma now that local ambulance services have decided to cut back sharply on non -emergency trips outside their bor- ders. Officials announced last week that each county will allow just one ambulance at a time outside its jurisdiction on non -emergency calls. It's a move that makes sense as ambulance . ser- vices strive to reduce their response times in emer- gencies. • But the new policy will mean patients and their families will have to make other arrangements to get to hospitals in other communities for tests or treatments. They will probably have to pay at least part of the cost for alternative transportation. Though it's bound to be a burden for some, the price is worth paying if it means lives will be saved by the prompt arrival of an ambulance. Anyone who's ever had a loved one stricken by a heart attack or stroke or critically injured in an accident can apjireciate the need for immediate medical attention. Some of the problems faced by ambulance ser- vices were highlighted in December when Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter criticized ambu- lance services for tardy responses. When ambulances are sent outside their borders on non -emergency calls, they're delayed — some- times for hours -- waiting for a bed to become available for the patient. And the number of hospi- tal transfers has been steadily increasing. The problem is clear, and the response by. Perth and Huron counties is a move in the right direction. But, as always, the problem is money. Currently, there's no cost to hospitals to send patients to out- of-town hospitals, but that will change if they have to start paying private contractors to shuttle patients. If the cost is passed on to patients or their fami- lies, there will naturally be some who can't afford to pay. Will they have to forgo treatment? In Canada, where publicly funded universal health care is held sacred, that obviously can't be allowed. The Stratford Beacon Herald Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 E-mail us at seaforth@bowesnet.com Visit our home page at www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com Canada OUB6COR MEDIA " ;j 'We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs." .10+.r if ..,r.ir.: a:.4; sr, its,.:. -,- .,,..-'- s, Looking for something to fix during March Break March Break: is mis- named, really. I mean, I got through the week without break- ing much of anything. But, I did spend a lot of time imagining, planning, brooding over what I could fix. During this time of year, esp6cially, during a' year {. like this, when the. =snow melts away to reveal, well, all the work that hes beneath, one's mind can't help but move from the sticks and branches that need bundling to the garden that needs digging to the outdoor fur- niture that needs painting. A week's holidays with nowhere to go but enough time to actually stop and look around rather than running the usual mad dash through the week inevitably has me planning the thing I took the week off to avoid - more work. Instead of slowing down and relaxing the way I ought, the lengthening sunny days and the budding branches had me motivated to improve something. With a borrowed tae bo video, I started out improving me, walking bricking in place and punching and jabbing at the air around me. But, improving me's a long term project - I wanted change I could see. Of course,Ispent-some time vacuuming, dusting, cleaning and whatnot but any order created soon dissolves into disorder and I wanted a more substantial and lasting PI- Susan p undertmark T L, change. My husband knows it's best to avoid me when this sort of mood overtakes me because he knows when I say something like, "when are we ever going to tear down the panelling in the living room and replace it with drywall," it's not real- ly "we" I'm talking about. He is the handy one afterall. Me, I'm the dreamer, the planner, the "what-if-er." Needless to say, every room in my house got a makeover last week. But, with a lack of money and a willing work crew, it's still all up here in my head - an as yet dormant seed waiting for the right conditions to sprout. So, to prevent myself from imploding from all these plans. and schemes, Itook myself out for a walk in the woods where the air was also ripe with new growth. Snow was melting and the resulting water was carving new pathways downhill to the racing stream below. Birds were singing their r fool heads off. But still, among all this activi- ty, there was peace. Finally, under the trees and in the cool, silent air, I could stop my mind from endless- ly planning and running and just let myself breathe. Here was the March fix I'd been looking for. Ron & have The home team is down 3-0,4 in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loadedi DAVE steps up to bafl He's the team's last chancel ..AND HE CONNECTS! IT -15 A HOME RUN! by David Lacey DAVE IS THE HERO! HE WINS THE BIG GAME! SyBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 35.85 a year,in advance, plus G.S.T. SENIORS; - 33.85 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. USA & Foreign: 35.85 a year in advance, plus $83.20 postage, G.S.T. exempt Published weekly by Sun Media at 11 Main St., Seaforth. 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Box 69, Seaforth, ON., NOK 1 WO Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association & the Ontario Community Newspaper Association Tom Williscraft Susan Hundertmark Publisher Editor Bernie Pugh Advertising / Office Dianne McGrath Jeff Heuchert Reporter Marcie Riegling Front office Composing Editorial and Business Offices - 11 Main Street.,Seaforth Telephone (519) 527-0240 Fax (519) 527-2858 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1 WO