Huron Expositor, 2007-08-01, Page 8Page 8 The Huron Expositor • August 1, 2007 /
News
Srnitherrnan's visit of
Clinton hospital
includes
diScuion of rural
health
care, CT scanners
building.
He discussed emergency room vol-
ume with Dr. Maarten Bokhout and
learned about local obstetrical prac-
tices from Dr. Keith Hay and Dr.
Marianne Smith.
A number of HPHA board mem-
bers, including chair Tim
Cronsberry made the trip to Clinton
to join the local welcoming party.
Linda Stevenson, of the Southwest
Local Health Integration Network
(LHIN) was also in attendance.
While greeting a crowd of support-
ers and hospital employees gath-
ered in the boardroom, Smitherman
praised the Clinton hospital and its
staff for its work in obstetrics and
cataracts.
"To have six physicians capable of
working together to provide obstet-
rical care is a really fantastic model
that we can't take for granted," he
said. "In a lot of other Ontario com-
munities the obstetrics volume is
low and the number of physicians
willing to provide care is even
Jennifer Hubbard
GMEMIEMIESID
Family health teams, cataract
wait times, rural health care and
the Huron County CT scanner cam-
paign were among the topics of dis-
cussion as Ontario Health Minister
George Smitherman and Huron -
Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell toured
Clinton Public Hospital last week.
And while Smitherman's July 19
tour didn't include a funding
announcement for Clinton or Huron
County, Huron -Perth Healthcare
Alliance (HPHA) CEO Andrew
Williams said the visit was a "real
boost to the local team."
Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell
also welcomed the Minister's visit.
After a brief meeting with mem-
bers of the Ontario Public Service
Employees Union (OPSEU) outside
of the hospital, Smitherman intro-
duced himself to members of the
local medical staff, who then led
him on a tour of the century -old
•
lower."
Despite being a small hospital,
Smitherman said Clinton continues
to play an important role in reduc-
ing wait times for cataract surg-
eries.
And while there is still work to be
done, he noted the Southwest
LHIN's 16 family health teams -
including Clinton's - have improved
access to a family doctor for 17,834
patients.
"To all of you, for what you've
done so far and the important work
we have yet to do together, thank
you so very much," he said as his
speech ended.
During a media question period,
Smitherman fielded questions on
the importance of diagnostic equip-
ment, like a CT scanner.
"If you look at access to diagnos-
tics, very often that's about giving
people reassurance because some-
thing get ruled out, or timely access
to information so we can coordi-
nate the care that they need.
Diagnostics is crucial," he
explained.
"ACCT scanner is in our mind a
very, very crucial diagnostic tool
and we have sought many opportu-
nities to bring CT scanners into new
hospitals and existing hospitals and
I fully anticipate that we will make
more progress on that through the
month of August."
Traditionally CT scanners require
provincial approval, but are pur-
chased by individual communities
without government funding. But in
the last year, Smitherman said his
government has provided some
operational dollars for the scanners.
"That was the first time in history
of Ontario that the provincial gov-
ernment paid anything specifically
for the operation of a CT scanner, so
it's always been one of those ele-
ments of health care that really
reflects a strong bit of partnership
and where the community is expect-
ed to play the leading role in bring-
ing that service to life," he said.
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