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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2007-04-25, Page 7News LAC disturbed by town's involvement in FHT Committee discusses desire to see negotiations reopen about facility for FHT The Huron Expositor • April 25, 2007 Page 7 Susan IIundertmark The Seaforth Community Hospital's Local Advisory Committee (LAC) tabled an undis- closed motion after a closed discus- sion about failed negotiations between Huron East and the hospi- tal trust regarding a home for the Huron County Family Health Team (FHT) in Seaforth. While the LAC went into closed session Monday with a motion on the table to send a letter to Huron East council asking that negotia- tions be reopened between the two bodies, that motion was abandoned and another put in its place. But, thg.j AC refused to divulge what the motion said. "It's a legal matter," said Alliance representative Sheila Morton. "No, it's more a matter of sensitiv- ity," said site administrator Mary Cardinal. LAC members complained about what they described as "interfer- ence" from council when discussing a home for the FHT. "The hospital trust has come under heavy fire and I don't think it's warranted. They're being casti- gated because we can't see a new roof on the building," said Bill Scott. "It would be much easier if the town would stay out of it," said Arend Streutker, adding that the Seaforth clinic has plenty of room for the current staff of the FHT. "To say we have to have a build- ing before anything else is ridicu- lous," said Scott. Rudy Jansen said the town and the development trust are being proactive in putting up a building while Tony Vanden Hengel agreed that the town "did get the ball rolling." "I don't know where we'd be with- out them," he said. "Personally, I think we'd be a lot further ahead without them. You can't be a politician for the town and know what's involved in health- care. You don't learn it overnight," said Gord Rimmer. Streutker said the main problem with the issue is the town wanting to own the medical clinic. Scott said his father, chair of the hospital board when the hospital was still located at the current home of the Seaforth Manor on James Street, said the hospital has always belonged to the hospital board. "The hospital was getting worn out and they were looking to build a new hospital. This property was a 100 -acre farm at the time," he said, adding that the board bought it from an elderly couple. Cardinal said Scott's story clears up any question of the hospital's ownership. She referred also to a March 26 letter written by Alliance CEO Andrew Williams to Huron East Mayor Joe Seili stating that "at no point has the municipality owned the clinic or the lands, nor has the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance ever owned the clinic or the lands." Williams' letter was responding to a March 21 letter from Seili stating that an agreement between the municipality and the clinic remains unsettled. In his letter, Seili proposes to replace two members of the trust with one member of council and one member of the development trust. "Accountability to taxpayers remains the No. 1 issue to our entire council. Any capital money invested in the clinic would be returned to the partners if the Alliance or hospital trust dissolves," said Seili as an attempt to resolve the differences of the two parties. Seili also said he did not agree that an employee of the clinic should have voting privileges as a member of the trust. Williams responded that while the municipality, development trust, hospital foundation and hos- pital have given financial support to the clinic, the biggest investors "by far" have been the foundation and hospital. • "Their financial interests there- fore are paramount in any potential agreement," said the letter. Williams' letter addressed the fact that two trustees on the hospital FHT still looking for space until building goes up From Page 1 "We're still looking at Maplewood Manor and hoping a new owner will offer rental space," he said. "We've been holding off hiring because we have no space to house people," he said. Ministry of Health representative Thomas O'Shaughnessy attended the sod -turning ceremony and said he was there to give Seaforth sup- port for its efforts. "This is an exciting day in this community. You've made tremen- dous progress and this day is a tes- tament to that," he said. foundation work for the clinic - Ron Lavoie as manager and Joan Chesney as a nurse. "In their responsibilities as trustees however, both are very careful to separate themselves from all decisions where they may bene- fit through their clinic responsibili- ties," he said in the letter. "It is also important to state that it is not uncommon for the CEO of an organization to be a voting mem- ber of its board." Williams suggested the FHT board and the hospital trust get together to look at space needs for the FHT at the clinic and hospital. "I believe, Your Worship, that the steps outlined above will lead us to a win-wir: agreement for all involved, including the residents of Huron East who are looking to us to resolve this issue in a manner that supports the ongoing evolution of healthcare services in our region," said Williams' letter. A note attached to both letters from Williams notes that Williams is sharing the information with the LAC and the Alliance to show the trust and the Alliance "remain 100 per cent committed to the success of the family health team." "As an aside, although I have had no official response to my letter, I have been advised that the mayor referred to it at a recent family health team meeting as `three pages of garbage' and that he did not see fit to circulate it for review and dis- cussion." Scott said he wants to see the FHT negotiating with the hospital trust, not council. Seili, in a phone interview, said he read the letter to the FHT board and advised council of the letter but agreed he did not distribute it. "They (the hospital trust) knew the terms and let the time go by and wouldn't make any changes. They didn't want to negotiate so we had to continue on," he said of the recent decision by council and the development trust to proceed with a separate building for the FHT. LAWN QUESTIONS? 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