The Citizen, 2007-11-29, Page 12The group that was in charge of the
program and time of devotion for the
November meeting of the
Londesborough United Church
Women recognized that there is more
to remembering than the emotions
evoked for Remembrance Day.
Involved in the program were YvonneHoggart, Marie Bromley, HarrietShillinglaw, Helen Lee and MarieBergsma.Marie Bromley read a humorousselection titled, I Can’t Remember towhich anyone who has experiencedan occasional episode of“sometimers” could relate.Hometown Memories, read by
Harriet, was the story of Edenmill, a
village settled in 1842. Much about
the village was similar to the early
days of Londesborough. References
were made to the history book about
Hullett Twp. and to a pamphlet
authored by Genevieve Allen.
Another facet to “remembering”
involves the memories one has of thepersons whose lives have touched ourown and in some way affected whowe are. At the Christmas time of yearthose memories surface more often.The Londesborough group likes toremind those who are shut-in thatalthough we don’t see them so veryoften, they are not forgotten.Part of the evening involved putting
together a small remembrance
package for those folk with a little
verse:
“December time, remember time,
and wishes warm and true,
All go with fond affection
especially to you.
And through the year we’ll think of
youNot just now and then – but as eachseason passed’Til Christmas comes again.”The UCW invites all ladies of thecongregation to join them for theChristmas potluck gathering onMonday, Dec. 3 beginning at 6:30p.m. Ruth Long, who is vice-president of the UCW Presbyterial
will be guest speaker.
Please bring along an item for the
women’s shelter. Suggestions for
donations include women’s and
children’s socks, underwear and
slippers, feminine hygiene products,
mouthwash and shampoo and
conditioner and hair brushes.
Further to the donations madefollowing the October meeting, theladies present that evening decided tohelp out the family of KaileeKennedy and to give another $2,000to the ongoing expenses of theLondesborough church.On White Gift Sunday, Dec. 2, theSunday school will present ClowningAround the Christmas Tree with
Bugsy and Snippity. Donations of
non-perishable foods of toys will be
taken to the Huron County Christmas
Bureau.
A potluck lunch of finger foods
will follow the service. They hope
you will join them as they celebrate
the Christmas season.
PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2007.
Dianne Harrison, Wingham’s
health professionals recruitment
officer, gave a presentation to North
Huron council at their Nov. 19
meeting.
Harrison’s deputation gave council
an idea of what she had been doing
since she was hired in September
and what she had in mind for the
future.
Harrison told of a doctor she had
been trying to recruit. He is from
France and didn’t meet Ontario
regulations, despite his 20 years of
experience. That doctor decided to
go to Quebec. There is a more open
exchange for healthcare
professionals between France and
Quebec.
Harrison said that informing this
physician, eager to come to Ontario,
that his qualifications were not
enough to employ him here, was
“the saddest day of her life”.
In a similar situation, a doctor
from the Caribbean currently living
in Vancouver was in touch with
Harrison, expressing interest in
coming to Wingham. However, she
then found Ontario too restrictive
and decided to seek employment in
the United States.
Harrison did say that she has two
scheduled visits coming up. In this
case, these are two doctors, one
coming from as far as Portland,
Oregon, to see if Wingham would be
a good fit for him. Harrison is
expecting the second to visit
sometime in December.
Harrison cited other cases like
this, where doctors didn’t match up
to Ontario regulations, or they found
greener pastures elsewhere. Harrison
reported hearing “That’s it?” several
times in response to the area’s
compensation package.
With funds being paid by the
municipality as well as other levels
of government, the Wingham and
area compensation package includes
a $24,000 forgivable loan, one year
free rent in a clinic and a possible
$15,000 more for underserviced
areas, which Wingham is.
In addition to competition among
compensation packages, Harrison
said that the national doctor shortage
(Harrison says that currently there
are 16,000 posted physician jobs and
8,000 nurse positions posted in
Canada) has spurred on many areas
and municipalities to adopt flashy
branding and attractive marketing
campaigns to draw in doctors to their
area.
Harrison said that she would like
to have some marketing tools that
would help her attract healthcare
professionals, but didn’t want to
spend too much money on the
project.
However, Harrison said, the
Alliance, the Family Health Team
and the recruitment committee are in
the process of working together to
design a branded campaign for the
area.
Harrison said that work in
underserviced areas is common
practice in the International Medical
Graduate framework. She said that
IMG’s have to work for five years in
an underserviced area before moving
on to bigger things.
The problem, however, lies in the
criteria for underserviced areas,
which still leaves a place like
Wingham rather far down the line
waiting for doctors and registered
nurses.
Harrison said that an area like
Sarnia, is also classified as
underserviced, meaning that it
would attract IMG’s over a place like
Wingham, with larger incentive
packages, better equipment and
facilities and more patients to work
with.
Having been hired in September,
Harrison says that she is learning
more each day. She is working with
local schools and says she has
received numerous calls regarding
possible short-term job shadowing in
the area from local high school
students.
Reeve Neil Vincent said that he
was much more enlightened after
Harrison’s presentation, and council
concurred, asking Harrison to begin
reporting to them at least quarterly,
or as she sees fit. Councillor Greg
McClinchey said that she should not
limit her visits by any means, and the
more that council sees of her, the
better.
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By BRENDARADFORDCall 523-4296PEOPLE AROUND LONDESBORO
NH council hears from physician recruiter
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen