Huron Expositor, 2007-05-02, Page 11The Huron Expositor • May 2, 2007 Page 11
News
Alliance gets $1.4 million to reduce wait times
Sharon Malvern
The Huron Perth Healthcare
Alliance (HPHA) will receive almost
$1.4 million for hip and knee
replacements, cataract surgeries
and CT scans, particularly at the
Stratford site.
John Wilkinson, MPP for Perth -
Middlesex, made the announcement
Friday afternoon on behalf of
Health and Long -Term Care
Minister George Smitherman.
The funding for 458 more proce-
dures in 2007-08 will further reduce
wait times for CT scans and surgi-
cal procedures.
The provincial government is
investing $1,393,700 to fund the fol-
lowing:
• $1,253,700 for 178 additional hip
and joint replacements
• $ 105,000 for 140 additional
cataract surgeries
• $ 35,000 for 140 CT exams
"The longer you have to wait, the
longer the recovery time," said
Wilkinson. "The HPHA has one of
the most
dramatic
reduc-
Alliance
has 13
reps on
Southwest
LHIN teams
Thirteen representa-
tives of the Huron Perth
Healthcare Alliance
have joined Priority
Action Teams with the
South West LHIN (Local
Health Integration
Netowork)
Seaforth Community
Hospital site adminis-
trator Mary Cardinal is
on the Rehabilitation
team, local physician
recruiter Gwen
Devereaux, Lynne
McDonald and Marie
Ormerod are on the
Health Human
Resources Advisory
Committee and Wilma
deYoung, Keith Hay and
Nancy Whitmore
are involved with
Primary Health Care.
Keary Fulton -Wallace
and Ralph Pototschnik
are on the Hips and
Knees team, Deb Hunt
is on the Diabetes team
and Marilyn Marshall
and Shamim Tejpar
are on the Children and
Youth team.
Alliance CEO Andrew
Williams is on the e -
Health Steering
Committee.
tions in wait times.
This is the result of
tremendous work
here. They've risen to
the challenge and
exceeded expecta-
tions. Their team-
work is constantly
improving and their
success rate for surg-
eries and procedures
is going up too."
Obviously pleased
with the announce-
ment, Alliance CEO
Andrew Williams
praised the hard
work of the health- Tim Cronsberry
care teams and sup-
port workers. He pre-
sented Wilkinson with a set of
scrubs so that he could come into
the hospital "at a moment's notice."
"It's wonderful," said Tim
Cronsberry, HPHA board chair.
"We've been working hard with
provincial dollars, and the
announcement shows that we've
been successful. It's a testament to
the hard work of the OR (operating
room) staff. The Ministry of Health
is saying 'We know you can do more
`We've been
working hard
with provincial
dollars and the
announcement
shows that
we've been
successful,'--
HPHA board chair
... here are the funds.'
"We appreciate the
attention that is being
paid to this issue and
the opportunity to
improve access to health
care for the residents of
Huron and Perth coun-
ties."
Dr. Laurel Moore,
the Alliance's chief of
staff, said: "We were
challenged the first time
around. We asked...
'Can we do this given
the limitations of space
and staff?' We did it
because of the
hardworking
staff and surgi-
cal teams who fit
in extra surg-
eries. Now
there's an
increased effi-
ciency."
She is looking
forward to the
new building
YOUR RENOVATION AND HOME SPECIALISTS!
(work on the Stratford General
Hospital's renovation/addition pro-
ject is expected to begin this fall).
"The new building will be more
efficient and the down times will be
decreased — when we have to
reorder an OR room for another
surgery. Recruitment of staff is
always an important issue, and the
new state-of-the-art wing will
attract new staff, I think, particu-
larly nurses."
Announcements were made
across the province on Friday by the
Minister of Health, allocating $281
million to hospitals to reduce wait
times.
Mitchell Family Doctors
is pleased to announce that
Dr. Tamar Tsafnat
and
Dr. Mark R. Powell
are accepting new patients
to their practice of family medicine.
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