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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1996-10-23, Page 171 Can Exeter area residents affor EXETER - Health care is one of the hottest topics in Exeter and many other smaller communities across the province as district health councils and task forces look for ways to realign this vital service is delivered. This week's newspaper contains a special section prepared by the Huron Perth District Health Coun- cil explaining its role and deliver- ing facts about local health care. 1t is looking carefully at all the hospitals in Huron and Perth. Many believe more than one are on the chopping block, facing closure as realignment and streamlining are terms that crop up more and more often. In St. Marys, the community has already started an intense cam- paign to save their hospital al- though no announcements have been issued regarding the future of — any hospital in the area. The conclusions reached by the district health council are expected to be released in January. Until then, hospitals in Huron and Perth counties are in the same boat as many others across the province. Those involved can only wait and hope. The following report was re- leased at Exeter's council meeting Monday. By Rick Hundey, Town Administrator The Huron -Perth District Health Council is studying health services. Consultations are just underway. Feedback I get stresses that it is better to get one's ideas into the mix before the forums begin (end of October and beginning of No- (t) Exeter targets growth to 7,600 October 30 in the afternoon. (We can, of course, send pinch hitters.) I expect information will be forward- ed. Exeter Council Report on Hos- pital Services for submission to the Task Force on Hospital and Related Health Services Introduction Society is in a state of change. Society needs are evolving and, at the same time, public finances are diminishing and must be stretched. Clearly, we have to be smarter in deploying our resources. That is easier said than done considering the complexity of our governments, their agencies and their programs. At times, the public sector fails to draw the proper connections be- tween the services its various agen- cies deliver. Exeter Council, for ex- ample, has not given as much attention to health and social ser- vices as those areas may warrant. This paper attempts to draw the connections between (a) communi- ty planning, economic development and hard services (e.g. water, sew- ers, etc.) as provided by the Town and (b) health services as provided by the Huron -Perth District Health Council. Planning and Economic Develop- ment in Exeter To help set the context for our main points, it is important for the reader to understand, in general terms, Exeter's plans and perspec- tives for the future. In 1994, we completed a new Of- ficial Plan to guide physical devel- opment of the Town. In 1995, we completed a strategic plan which focused on matters of economic and community development. To make a long story short (and re- stricting ourselves to directly rele- vant facts): Second Section - October 23, 1996 to lose South Huron Hospital? One might question the wisdom tier how good the other services/ in these kinds of major investments 'grams may be. The impact of at a oss of a single time to be entrenching municipalities lservice of tureis development seemmagnified far the fiscal squeeze. beyond the value that service may Exeter's contention is that "en- hold for an existing population. trenchment" is short-sighted. Good (4) Economic Factors - Exeter's fiscal policy requires cost control growth will be fuelled by much (which we are addressing) and pru- more than the migration of retiring dent community investment. We re- baby boomers. Unlike many other gard our investments in infraswc communities, Exeter's industries ture as prudent for the following and businesses have prospered and reasons: expanded. Economic growth pros - (1) Population Trends - Recent :tects continue to look good (given recent expansions at Nabisco and demographic data shows Exeter's growth rates to be significantly ;other industries, and given major higher than the norm (eg. five-year developments in regional stores and growth rate 1986-91 is 15.1 percent • services). or 3,769 to 4,338). In planning for Exeter's connection to the agri- the future, Exeter was (and is) very cultural community cannot be un - much aware of broad trends. ;derstated. The Town provides mar - Demographers such as David mar - let (processing and service Foot have long pointed to the antic apacity) for agricultural products ipated shift in population from ur- and service centre functions to On - ban to small-town Ontario. That tario's best agricultural area. trend will pickup speed as the baby There is also, of course, our con - boomers enter their pre -retirement ,pection to Grand Bend. The resort and early retirement years. -community relies very much on Ex - On another front, agricultural tceter's services. Beyond the corn economists note a continuing shift mercial services, Exeter emphasiz from agricultural to small town and es the important role the resort communities. community's hospital and health Exeter Council suggests that ;services play for the resort resident these shifts will not occur with anyii lrtdlor visitor. consistency in pattern and numbers. (5) Opportunity - Exeter has con - In other words, these people will sidered its advantages ( location, move to towns that have the advan- q,Comprehensive service base, eco- tages of: pomic strength) and assessed demo- • good location, • good services, • .graphic and economic trends. strong economic base, and • capaci- ;When taken in combination, Exeter ty to grow. concluded that opportunity exists They will not move to towns that ?or future wealth creation for the do not offer those features. community. To seize the opportuni- (2) Location - As outlined above, y, two essential steps must be tak- Exeter already has committed to tn: providing capacity to grow. Exet- i) First, the community must in- er's location gives its residents west in itself (as Exeter has done good access to the City of London Rand is doing); (shopping, cultural events, educa- `'i ii) Second, community services ion facilities medical transports- 'must be maintained and enhanced • Exeter is positioned to grow and to provide for all of the needs of a larger population and of a large sub -region. Accordingly, it is sensible and cost-effective to co-ordinate invest- ment in municipal infrastructure (water, sewers, roads) in municipal services (fire, police, recreation, ec- onomic and community develop- ment) and investment in health ser- vices. These are community services (as opposed to being mu- nicipal or district health council services). As such, future planning must be co-ordinated. Exeter Coun- cil offers this paper and its appendi- ces as input in the planning pro- cess. Appendix A Demographic Analysis - Exeter In the course of updating our mu- nicipal plans, considerable demo- graphic analysis was done. Early in that effort, the town realized the difficulty in projecting growth for a very small geographic base. To ex- plain that point by example, the an- ticipated re -distribution of popula- tion from urban areas to small towns will not affect a town with- out infrastructure capacity, ie. it will not grow. On the other hand, a town with servicing capacity and with other advantages will grow be- yond the norm by a significant mar- gin. Exeter decided to position it- self to provide for a larger base and to capture a large share of the urban to small town migration. Our planning exercise considered future needs in both municipal in- frastructure and municipal services. It is appreciated that the same kind of exercise would have been fol- lowed by the District Health Coun- cil in planning for medical services. Perhaps the medical services analy- sis focused on regional and provin- cial perspectives as opposed to sub- vember). Toward that end, I have population over an unspecified time tion). It is also well situated In tela- '� the future evert if some of diet re tonal and local perspectives. ';7trt � reason, chap �T'i `"-�i-� risk of over -simplify prepared a draft report containing-- 'frame (from the current levettre "`!1D jltrr .f, fer-�d t30 ing, some perspectives and issues that 4,400); opportunities) and Lake Huron (and foga and content.• the Council decided to try to under - hope will reflect Council thinking. (2) Exeter's water system has its recreational opportunities),stand this area's demographics as indeed, Exeter's location is rela- a evidence is persuasive that the subject relates to medical ser- tively stronger than most other the demand for medical services vices (for the purpose of acquiring towns in the general region. will increase as the baby boom pop- an Exeter -perspective understand - (3) Services and Amenities - The ulation ages. (See Appendix A) ing of the issues). Our rudimentary public needs the "invisible infra- New expectations and fiscal con- assessment follows. structure" (water, sewerage, etc.) cems will prompt government and Exeter Demographics - Table 1 and, as noted, we will provide that. agencies to consider new approach- profiles the Ontario, Huron County However, such services are basic. es. Exeter Council will not presume and Exeter populations.A number New residents also look for a sec- to recommend in any definitive of important observations can be ondary school, good recreation pro- way on how health services must drawn: grams for all levels, medical servic- be provided in the future. However, (1) Both Huron County and Exet- es including a good hospital, good we do know that: er have much higher numbers of shopping, parks, fire and police • Exeter's aged population is and residents (relatively) who are in the protection, community programs, will continue to be higher than the 60-64, 65-69, 70-74 and 75+ age services for the elderly including provincial average; brackets. This suggests the demand retirement and nursing homes. Ex- • Exeter's and Huron's "baby for services for the elderly will con- eter has all of that. Take away one boom" population mirror the pro- tinue to be relatively higher here key service and it may no longervincial numbers; than in other areas into the next 15- This subject is a critical strategic/ community issue for Exeter. In sub- mitting the report now, we run the risk of missing important factors and mis-reading others. I would also have liked to take more time and consult with more people be- fore putting pen to paper. However, I understand the process is now picking up steam. Our ideas (even if expressed prematurely) will be useful to both the Town and to the process. And, our position may evolve as we go. Finally, 1 should mention that I volunteered the Mayor and Reeve to attend a focus group discussion on the future of health services on been expanded by the Town and P.U.C. to provide for that level of population; (3) Sewage treatment system ex- pansion plans are nearing comple- tion; (4) Waste management facilities have been expanded to provide for the next 30 years and more; (5) Residential lands have been earmarked for future growth; (6) Industrial and commercial ex- pansion is provided for in our infra- structure. The land base for such economic growth should be ex- panded through municipal restruc- turing. Exeter as a Growth Centre THE EJAL1TY 15 TOM TO BEAT... HURRY IN TO YOUR CUB CADET DEALER TODAY. THIS IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER. TFI[ A lib NTEaEST RASE CAN'T 13L [AT. The quality is tough to beat. The value is even tougher, and as for your Cub Cadet dealers' special 0% financing, it can't be beat. You'll see what we mean, the minute you walk into his showroom. You'll see a quality snowthrower line-up for 1996 and, you'll meet a knowledgeable Cub Cadet dealer. He'll help you choose the snowthrower that's just right for you. Then he'll assemble it, and make sure that it is properly serviced and read or winter. • Power Equipment BECKER 600 Main Street, South, Exeter, Ontario. NOM 1 S 1 Ph- (';19) 135 Z7`1/ Products /n c F tx f519) /35')O67 1 20 years. (2) The number of seniors in Ex- eter is so large that the percentages of other age cohorts may be distort- ed. Assuming for the moment that Exeter's proportions of seniors (cat- egories 60-64 and older) are the same at the Province, one finds that the numbers of baby boomers (age brackets 25-29 to 40-44 inclusive for 1991 census year) are very close to the Provincial averages. The oldest of these baby boomers are reaching the age of 50 in 1996. Service demands are changing and increasing now for health and other services, and the demands will in- crease in each succeeding year. Implications and Questions - As noted, Exeter has assessed the implications of these numbers for municipal services. From a health services perspective, Exeter asks the following: (1) What does Exeter's popula- tion profile suggest about the de- mand for medical services 10 years from now, 20 years from now? Council would submit that: (a) demand for services will be greater (a 55 -year-old needs more health services than a 35 -year old); (b) demand here will be much greater than is generally the case elsewhere because infrastructure capacity makes growth more likely in Exeter than in communities that have not planned for/invested in the future. (2) How will health services change to meet this demand? Council realizes this is the $64,000.00 question. Change will happen. Exeter contends that some important principles should be es- tablished: (a) investment in health services and in municipal infrastructure should be complementary (to opti- mize taxpayer investments); (b) a growth centre and a sub - regional service centre such as Ex- eter requires a wide range of health services,' accessible to the client group. (3) Is there a need for a hospital in Exeter in the future? If any small towns are to have hospitals, then Council's view is that Exeter more than "qualifies": • the current population profile shows that the need for medical ser- vice is significant; • the future pop- ulation profile (at 10 years, at 20 years) shows an increasing need; • the Town's growth potential and other community investment indi- cates Exeter should remain a sub - regional service centre that includes a strong health services sector. [ND OF SEASON CLEARANCE 5 H.P. REAR TINE TILLER SALE PRICE SAVE $300.00 Reg. $995.00 $695°° STRAIGHT sHAFr TRIMMER/ BRUSH CUTTER SAVE $100.00 • Reg. $299.00 SALE PRICE $19900 HAND HELD GAS POWERED BLOWER SAVE $80.00 • Reg. $279.00 SALE PRICE $199°0 4H.P. SELF-PROPELLED SALE PRICE REAR BAGGER MOWER SAVE $200.00 • Reg. $495.00 $29500 P I i1 (1 I/ r ft / rr e /4)0 Math S1r(Sin lift 1 x('t('t, Orttrrrin NOM 1,4,1 1'h (519) / 35 /Pa lox (5 19) /35406/