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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-05-18, Page 22 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, May 18, 2005 Regional wrap up Thumbs up for health care facilities GODERICH — Ontario's Minister of Health and Long-term Care likes what he sees. George Smitherman recently toured the new Maitland Valley Medical Centre in Goderich. According to the Goderich Signal -Star, Smitherman also visit- ed Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. He praised the com- munity for having a vision when it comes to health care and he rec- ognized the great part- nership between the two facilities. Faith in Action CLINTON — A retired teacher and long-time community volunteer is one of the first to receive the Mother Theresa Faith in Action Award. Doreen Nogalo of Clinton was recently honoured. The Clinton News - Record says Nogalo has been involved in many causes: area schools, the Clinton Public Hospital Auxilliary, the Clinton spring fair board, the Catholic Women's League and activities at St. Joseph's church. The award is pre- sented on behalf of the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board. Public meeting on doctor shortage By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — An upcoming public meeting will inform residents about the doctor short- age in the area. The meeting, May 24 from 7:30-9 p.m. at South Huron Rec Centre, will include a panel of speakers as well as a chance for audience members to ask questions. The meeting grew out of concerns by the South Huron Chamber of Commerce. Treasurer Fred Simmons said the issue of doctor shortages is important for economic development and a personal issue for those who need a doctor and don't have one. Referring to the doctor shortage across the province, Simmons said the competition to acquire doctors is "horrendous." He said the incentives some communities are offering new doctors are "incredible," and an ongoing strategy is needed for South Huron. South Huron Hospital Association board chair Glenn Bartlett said there are two ele- ments to the doctor issue — the number of doctors needed to operate a hospital and its emergency department, and the number of family physicians a community needs. South Huron has enough doctors to run the hospital and its emergency department, but the community needs three more full-time family doctors. Dr. Maureen Farrell recently came to the community and Bartlett said the hospital is in negotiations with another doc- tor. South Huron has been declared medically underserviced, a problem Bartlett said exists across the country. "It's a seller's market," he said, referring to the high demand for doctors. The South Huron Medical Centre, with room for six doctors, now has three. Bartlett added the doctor shortage isn't only a hospital issue, it's a community problem and the community has a role to play in recruiting new doctors. "We all have a vested interest in getting new doctors to town," Simmons added. Bartlett and Simmons both spoke of the need for local municipalities to participate in doctor recruitment efforts — South Huron, Bluewater and Lambton Shores. Speakers at next week's meeting will include new hospital CEO Debra Hunt and medical recruiter Gwen Devereaux. Simmons said the major objective of the meeting is to make the community aware of the doctor shortage. "It really is a difficult situation," he said, adding he would like to see the creation of a task force to deal with the problem on an ongoing basis. Bartlett, Simmons and Hunt spoke of the need for the community to get involved in doctor recruitment efforts. Bartlett said Exeter has the advantage of being a small town close to larger centres like London. He said the area has good schooling and recre- ation programs. Bartlett said new doctors are attracted to rural medicine because quality of life issues are becoming more important to them. He said the University of Western Ontario teach- es rural medicine and UWO grads visit South Huron to see what rural medicine is like. Dr. Philip Chan has spoken to students at UWO and McMaster University about the advantages of working in rural areas. Busy weekend coming for area OPP officers Continued from front page motor vehicle incidents reported. Twenty six were colli- sions, resulting in serious injuries. OPP report 50 per cent of the crashes in Huron County were the result of motorists hitting animals, mostly deer. Tweny-three per cent of crashes involved careless driving, following too close, failing to yield and speeding. During this upcoming holiday weekend, eight officers have been assigned to conduct radar enforcement on Highways 21 and 8 as well as County Roads 86, 83, 81 and 25. Ride programs will also take place with the help of the Huron Bruce chapter of MADD. Police are hoping high- level visibility and enforce- ment will decrease the number of traffic incidents on area roadways. Coroner's inquest in Exeter By Stephanie Mandziuk TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — A coroner's inquest into the death of a Huron County man will begin Tues., May 24. Forty-one year-old Gary Spurn died July 22, 2004 after he was arrested by police. In the early afternoon of July 22, OPP responded to a call on Coursey Line in Lucan Biddulph Township. They found a man behaving erratically and after a brief struggle, arrested him The man appeared to be distressed and officers placed him in the recov- ery position until para- medics arrived. The man was transported to South Huron Hospital where he later died. Last December, the province's Special Investigations Unit found, "there are no reasonable grounds to believe that any Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers com- mitted a criminal offence in relation to the death of a 41 -year-old man on July 22, 2004." A post-mortem found no anatomical cause of death. Interim Director of the SIU, James Cornish, con- cluded, "the officers were engaged in a lawful arrest of the man and that there was no action or inaction on the part of police that caused his death." The coroner's inquest at Exeter town hall is expected to take three days. Additional water tests good By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF SOUTH HURON — Another round of water testing done on property where in -field manure composting was being done have turned out good, according to the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. As previously reported, South Huron councillors became concerned upon the discovery that proper- ty owner Marcus Koeneg at the corner of Huron Street West and Corbett Line (Part Lot 20, Conc. 18) had dug a drainage ditch along the side of the road adjacent to a manure composting site. There were concerns manure had leaked into a public drain where it would eventually flow into Lake Huron. The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority were called out to the site, with the ABCA taking water samples April 14 and May 4 from three locations near the site — two tests were from open watercourses, while one was at a tile outlet. E. coli and nitrates were both tested for. While the April 14 tests were described as "very good" by ABCA general Quarantine over By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — The quarantine at South Huron Hospital ended May 11, five days after it started when three or four patients experienced flu-like symptoms. Hospital CEO Debra Hunt, whose first day on the job was May 9, said Public Health advised the hospital it could reopen May 11. "Everything is back to normal," Hunt said, describ- ing the quarantine, in which there were no new admissions or discharges, as uneventful. She said the hospital had to wait 72 hours after patients exhibited their last symptoms before reopening. The illness, which hospital board chair Glenn Bartlett described last week as a gastrointestinal infec- tion, did not spread beyond the initial three or four patients. Hunt reminds visitors to wash their hands with soap and water before coming to the hospital. manager Tom Prout, the May 4 tests, after a rain- fall, were even better. The three May 4 E. coli counts showed one count of one and two counts of zero E. coli per 100 millil- itres. Provincial standards for swimming state there be an E. coli count of no more than 100, while there must be a count of zero in drinking water. The nitrate samples showed counts of zero, 0.3 and 1.3 milligrams per litre. The provincial standard for nitrates in drinking water is 10 mil- ligrams per litre. As a result of the good test results, the munici- pality decided no further action would be taken. However, South Huron does find itself on the hook for the full cost of the process, estimated by Mayor Rob Morley at over $1,000. 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