HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-01-11, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018. PAGE 9.
Huron paramedics awarded for live -saving efforts
Recognized
Paramedics James Dausett and David Ludwig received
Medical Director's Awards of Excellence for going above
and beyond the call of duty to save a life in 2017. The two
responded to a single -vehicle collision on July 25 and found the
vehicle on fire. Going against their traditional rules, the two pulled
the driver of the car to safety and saved his life. (Shawn Lou
ynnn photo)
McArter tells council to support BMGCC
Continued from page 2
you it's like that in November too!
I believe the other councillors
have nice arenas to watch hockey in
such as Clinton and Seaforth. I
cannot, for the life of me, figure out
what we have done wrong to warrant
the punishment we receive from our
council in regards to recreation in
our village. I'm on the page of
"build it and they will come" and it's
time council used that analogy!
I spend just as much time in the
arena as everyone else in minor
hockey and when you hear visiting
players complaining about our
arena, the small lobby, small
dressing rooms, no booth, no
heaters, and how cold it is and how
much they loathe coming to our
arena, as a proud life-long resident,
it is embarrassing to no end.
The councillors know that we have
local minor hockey from Brussels
and Blyth using our arena; that's a
given. We also have curling, a
skating club and broomball. All
these groups deserve better. Also, we
have girls hockey using our arena,
albeit mostly for practices, as they
are embarrassed to have the city
teams come play games in Brussels
because its not up to par with the
other arenas in the area. This is not
acceptable to those who use this
facility on a daily and weekly basis
Workforce strategy approved
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Huron County Council has
approved the draft workforce
attraction and retention strategy,
which aims to add 500 people to the
county workforce by the end of the
year.
Immigration Liaison Kristin
Crane presented the strategy to
Huron County Council at its final
committee of the whole meeting of
the year. She told council that
unskilled workers and skilled trades
are in the highest demand in the
region and that general labourer and
sales representatives were the
hardest positions to fill in Huron
County in 2016.
"On the ground, the lack of
available workforce manifests itself
in many ways. The following are a
number of real consequences of the
worker shortage for actual Huron
County employers:
• Businesses are postponing
adding extra shifts to meet
sales demands and/or are,
instead, turning down sales.
• Businesses are hesitant to invest
in product/factory expansions for
fear that they will not be able to find
the workers they need to operate the
expanded business.
• Businesses may be unable to
effectively manage their operations
as poor performing employees can't
be dismissed for fear of not being
able to fill the position"
Crane told councillors that while
economic development and a
number of other issues are often
discussed by councillors, the lack of
available workforce is the "number
one impediment" to economic
growth in Huron County.
It was in September, 2017 that
staff from the county's economic
development department set out to
develop a strategy and action plan to
tackle workforce attraction and
retention issues.
Crane told councillors that the
total budget to implement the three-
year strategy would be just under
$255,000. Of that, she said, over
$150,000 of that money is simply a
matter of aligning current spending
commitments, much of which is the
result of grants from various
branches of upper -tier government.
The remaining money to be put
towards the study would come from
the economic development
department's budgets, $18,000 of
which is from the 2017 budget and
then just over $100,000 from the
2018, 2019 and 2020 department
budgets.
There are a number of barriers, she
said, but the strategy will work to
meet those challenges and succeed.
Challenges include a lack of housing
options, an outsider lack of
awareness of Huron County, a lack
of perceived opportunities and a lack
of services to help accommodate
new Canadians.
The foundation of the strategy,
Crane said, is the five -pronged
approach.
"The five approaches are:
• Prepare the community for
newcomers, particularly immigrants
and refugees, by discussing the issue
Continued on page 20
LWHA recognised for efforts
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and physicians recognized by
external experts. This is one way in
which the LWHA ensures that it
provides safe patient care in a
positive work environment. " said
CEO Karl Ellis. "We are justifiably
proud of this result"
The surveyors made special note
of the efforts of the Hospital
Foundations in ensuring the
hospitals have up-to-date equipment.
The effectiveness of the board, the
high level of patient satisfaction and
the dedication of hospital staff were
also noted.
As with all organizations, LWHA
faces some challenges. The
surveyors wish to see a higher level
of patient, family and health care
partner involvement in
organizational decision-making.
They also acknowledged that some
of our services have relatively small
volumes and we need to continue to
be mindful to maintain
competencies in low volume
services and procedures.
Shannon Maier, Vice President
Clinical Services, offered that, "one
of the benefits of the accreditation
process is identifying some
suggestions for improvement.
Undertaking changes to improve the
care provided in our hospitals in an
ongoing process. This accreditation
result gives us confidence that we
are on the right track."
Listowel Wingham Hospitals
Alliance Board Chair Rosemary
Rognvaldson acknowledged that the
accreditation survey is more than a
five-day exercise. It is a reflection
of the work that all staff and
physicians at LWHA do on a daily
basis. The next accreditation survey
will take place in 2021.
This current accreditation award is
well-deserved and validates the
hospitals' quality and safety
initiatives.
in the community of Brussels.
An investment in recreation in
Brussels is an investment in the
future of Brussels. Please
councillors it's time to quit
neglecting the Brussels, Morris and
Grey Community Centre and get on
with improvements!
Doug McArter, Brussels.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Two Huron County paramedics
were honoured last week for their
life-saving actions with regional
awards.
Paramedics James Dausett and
David Ludwig were awarded by Dr.
Don Eby, the Medical Director for
the Southwestern Ontario Regional
Base Hospital Program, which
stretches all the way to Owen
Sound.
Dausett and Ludwig received
Medical Director's Awards of
Excellence for their actions in
saving a life in 2017.
Eby, who spoke to Huron County
Council at its Jan. 3 meeting, said
that the two men actually broke
protocol to save a citizen's life.
He said that the paramedics
responded to a call of a single -
vehicle collision on July 25 and
when they arrived on scene, the car
was on fire.
Eby said the paramedics did the
wrong thing in terms of
"administration", because going into
a vehicle that's on fire is prohibited.
However, they did the right thing as
"humans" and saved the driver's life
by entering the car.
Eby said it's important to
recognize paramedics for their hard
work and expertise in the field.
For the organization, which covers
three expansive regions, it's
important to honour Huron County
paramedics especially, he said, when
they risk their lives to do something
great.
Babies of the Year 2017
Don't miss your chance for an authentic
newspaper clipping for your child's scrapbook
BABY
BOOK
Join the gallery of
new faces in
The Citizen's
baby photo display
January 18, 2018
Email a jpeg of your little one born in 2017 along with a writeup
which includes full name, birth date and parents' names and then
call us, stop in or mail a cheque to prepay.
ONLY $20.00 (must be prepaid)
w
Mike & Laura Smith
- Sample -
Matthew Robert
Smith
May 18
son of
Please Complete
Baby's Full Name
Son Daughter
Birth Date
Parents' Names
Deadline
Extended
January 15
$20.00 Enclosed
DEADLINE - January 15
2 pm in Brussels • 4 pm in Blyth
Email: info@northhuron.on.ca
519-523-4792