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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2007-10-17, Page 25Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Times -Advocate 25 Hospital campaign reaches new phase By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — With about 80 per cent of its $1 6 million fundraising campaign already raised, the South Huron Hospital Capital Campaign is ready to focus on door-to-door canvassing. Vice -chairperson and sec- retary of the South Huron Hospital Foundation John Wuerth said the campaign is now moving from the "corporate" phase to a more personal appeal to families and individuals. Door-to-door canvassing in the area, with the help of local service clubs, is expected to start at the end of October. Fundraisers intend to can- vass all towns in South Huron. Wuerth said he hopes the door-to-door campaign will also educate the public and help them understand the reasons behind the fundraising. The hospital is raising the money to help pay for the new digital x-ray system and renovations to the emergency room. The cost of the digital x-ray sys- tem is $1.3 million (to be raised by donations), while $300,000 needs to be raised for equipment for the upgraded emergency room. The Ministry of Health has given the hospital a $1 mil- lion grant for the emer- gency room upgrades and renovations. Wuerth said residents should feel free to ask ques- tions of canvassers and then determine how much they are able to donate. Capital campaign volun- teer George Godbolt said residents can either donate at the door or think about it before donating. If residents aren't home when can- vassers come to their home, information will be left at the door. The hospital is still looking for service clubs and volun- teers to help with the can- vassing. Of the approximately $1.13 million that has been raised so far, Godbolt says he is "thrilled," while hospi- tal chief executive officer Deb Hunt says she is "delighted." Godbolt says the donations show people believe in the importance of having a hospital and keep- ing it current. Wuerth said volunteers have discovered it is rare that someone will say they have no intention of donat- ing to the campaign. Godbolt said financial sup- port of the campaign has been "widespread," some- thing he said reflects well on the communi- OUTH t3'• URON Hunt said she is - OSPITAL "pleased, surprised and thankful" for SSOCIATION the support the campaign has received. "It validates the work the staff does," she said, adding she thinks the hospi- tal has had more sponta- neous donations from patients recently than in the past. Hunt says the campaign is a good opportunity to edu- cate the public about the services and programs the hospital offers. In addition to the $1.6 mil- lion being raised in the cur- rent campaign, the hospital will need to raise $150,000 to $200,000 annually in the future for equipment costs, with Hunt saying it's "very important" for the hospital to keep current. She said keeping current with equip- ment and technology helps the hospital attract hospitals and other health profession- als. In November, Dr. Sean Ryan, a new medical gradu- ate, will start work at the family practice clinic, the emergency room and inpa- tient work at the hospital. Hunt said medical stu- dents want to see that the hospital is up to date. She said she hopes to see renovations to the emer- gency department start the first week of December and finish by the first week of April. While the emergency department will temporarily be relocated in the hospital during the renovations, all services will be maintained. Hunt said she thanks the public for their patience during this time. The new revamped emer- gency department will have six patient rooms instead of the current three, while two rooms will have full isola- tion capacity for patients with potentially infectious disease. "We will be absolutely prepared for infectious dis- ease," Hunt said, adding South Huron Hospital will meet and probably exceed provincial standards. Emergency department patients will also have increased privacy after ren- ovations are complete. Relative to other hospitals in Huron -Perth, Hunt said South Huron Hospital's emergency department is very busy and not far behind Goderich's. She attributes this to its proxim- ity to a busy highway and tourism in Grand Bend in the summer According to information provided by the hospital, South Huron Hospital serves about 19,000 people from South Huron, Bluewater, North Lambton and North Middlesex. In 2006, 11,000 patients were treated in the emergency department, with 13,000 visits at the walk-in clinic, 16,000 x-rays done and 5,000 physiotherapy ses- sions. On that note, Wuerth said the campaign has had a good response from the lakeshore community. The digital x-ray system, also called a Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS) has been in effect at the hospital since January. It allows patient x- rays and ultrasounds to be viewed by radiologists at other hospitals around the clock. Two local crashes claim lives HURON — A 25 -year-old London man died after his Ford Ranger pick- up truck collided with a cement truck Oct. 9. The deceased, Ivan Stimac, was heading northbound on Highway 4 near Mount Carmel Drive in Lucan Biddulph when he crossed the centre line and was struck by a southbound cement truck around 11 a.m. The Ford Ranger pickup truck then caught fire. The fire was extinguished by the Lucan Biddulph Volunteer Fire Department. Stimac was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the cement truck, 42 - year -old John Dixon of Parkhill, was not injured. There are no charges expected. A 19 -year-old South Huron woman was killed Oct. 8 in a single vehicle crash around 3:30 p.m. on Goshen Line in South Huron. Jolene Unwin had been ejected from the vehicle in the accident. She was flown to London Health Sciences Centre via air ambulance where she later succumbed to her injuries. POLICE BRIEFS Four arrested in LCBO theft HENSALL — On Oct. 10 at approximately 4:30 p.m., Huron OPP were dis- patched to a theft in progress at the LCBO in Hensall. The theft involved one male and one female suspect who left the store with an unknown quantity of liquor and drove north on Highway 4 in a black Pontiac Grand Am. The Hensall store had been alerted to the suspects after being called by the Exeter LCBO who had also been victims. While officers were obtaining a description of the suspects at the Hensall store, the Clinton LCBO called Hensall to say that the suspects were in the store. The officer at the Hensall location dispatched Huron officers to the Clinton store. Officers arrived in time to observe the suspects leaving the store and entering a black Grand Am occupied by two other people. All suspects were arrested at the scene and the stolen liquor was recovered. A 54 -year-old London woman, a 45 -year-old London woman, a 48 -year-old London male and a 38 -year-old London male were all held in custody at the Huron detachment. Welcome to Pink for October Web sites will Go Pink during the month of October to bring attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, get people talking about breast cancer, and raise money for research. But to be clear, raising money isn't the primary purpose of this web event. The hope is that you turn your site pink (in whatever way works for your site), go out to that World Wide Web thing and educate yourself about the multiple issues related to Breast Cancer, then take that newfound knowledge and tell someone else what you've learned. It's not a myth that turning your web site pink will stop breast cancer. It's also not a truth. Which is why this year web sites are trying to push the idea that Going Pink is only step one. They want each per- son that visits the site to walk away more knowledgeable and they hope you pass on that knowledge to some- one else. Overall, they hope that knowledge gained will spur you into action: whatever action is appropriate for you to take. The survey revealed that 76% of the respondents consider themselves knowledgeable about breast cancer. In addition 61% of the respondents reported having recently heard or read something about breast cancer. Despite these statistics, the survey shows that awareness is not translat- ing into knowledge. A majority of respondents (56%) believe that most breast cancers occur among women with a family history or a genetic predisposition to the dis- ease. The reality is that over two thirds of women diagnosed have no known risk factor. Even though hav- ing an inherited mutation in certain genes is the most potent risk factor, the National Cancer Institute states: "these genes are rare in the general population and are estimated to account for no more than 5% to 10% of breast and ovarian cancer cases overall." Hockey legend Dryden stops in Exeter Continued from front page admits he was "a little broken up about it," but wasn't able to tell anyone about it, leaving Newman to wonder what was going on. Dryden could only tell Newman that "it's good." Speaking before ETM cameras of the Montreal Canadiens of the 1970s, Dryden noted, "We were a terrific, terrific team . . . we genuinely were." He said he watched a tape a few years ago of a Canadiens game from the 1970s and said "we must have been very heartbreaking to play against." Turning to politics, Dryden said he con- stantly heard during the leadership race concerns from the rural areas that there was too much of a focus by the govern- ment on the urban parts of the country. Dryden said it is the challenge of every political party to recognize that "part of Canada is the north ... part of Canada is rural and remote areas." Dryden said he thought of running for politics for most of his life. When it came to deciding if he wanted to run federally, provincially or municipally, he said the decision was easy. He chose to run feder- ally because, "I'm a Canadian ... that's my identity ... that's where my emotions are. I want to represent what I most iden- tify with." He said being a politician is "an unbelievable luxury" to be able to do things to help people. He described it as a tough job, but a genuine privilege. McClinchey added politics is a profession in which you can really have an impact. He later added that politics shouldn't be about the lowest common denominator, it should be about ideas. McClinchey said a minority government is a perfect opportu- nity for compromise. "We can make a difference and we can do something positive." One thing Dryden doesn't like about poli- tics is "the games of politics," such as the current question of whether or not there will be an election. He described Prime Minister Stephen Harper as someone who has proven him- self to be both very adept at being a politi- cian and at being a party leader, but "not very adept at being a prime minister." McClinchey said it is important to have people such as Dryden visit Huron -Bruce and his visit is an example of the federal govern- ment taking note of the area. Thank You for Your Support It has been an honour for me to represent the Progressive Conservative party in Huron Bruce. I sincerely appreciate the commitment and efforts of the volunteers who worked along side me during the provincial campaign. To everyone who supported my efforts as the Huron Bruce PC Candidate, I thank you. Rob Morley authorized by the CFO for The Rob Morley Campaign FREE LEGAL ADVICE Available from THE HURON/PERTH COMMUNITY LEGAL CLINIC The Centre for Employment & Learning 349 Main Street each THURSDAY The clinic can provide legal information on your rights about: Ontario Works • Ontario Disability Support Program • Employment Insurance • Landlord and Tenant Matters • Criminal Injuries Compensation • Canada Pension Plan • Powers of Attorney CaII for an appointment 1-866-867-1027