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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1976-01-28, Page 7LOWER INTEREST RATES NOW AVAILABLE 'ON . 1st and 2nd Mortgages ANYWHERE' IN 'ONTARIO ON .RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND FARM PROPERTIES, Interim Financing For. New Construction and Land Development FOR REPRESENTATIVES IN YOUR AREA PHONE SAFEWAY INVESTMENTS AND CONSULTANTS LIMITED (519) 7644535 Head Office 56 Weber St. E. Kitchener, Orit. WE BUY EXISTING MORTGAGES FOR INSTANT CASH , failure. To date, the artificial lung has supported some 150 patients in advanced stages of 'acute respira- tory failure for up to three weeks. e / The 'Ontario March of Dimes needs your help in their ongoing campaign 'to fidlp People Live Like People: • Please • give -generously when ,your canvasser calls. f/Slitill11 400*••••••••411111114004, Change : In.:1101140:Rate's: Effective April :Agri! 1, 1916 Billing Lucknow Hydro has applied to the Ontario Hydro fer the following rate increase, effective April 1, 1976: KILOWATT HOUR -- 'KWH COST PER 'KWH First 50 KWH ' Next 200 KWH 2.5c Next 500 KWH Only to those with a Hydro approved water heater 1.75c All additional KWH 1.85c Minimum billing • 3.50 per month The above rates are NET and subject to a 5% late payrnent charge. General Service Rate Structure may be obtained upon ap- plieation at the Municipal Office 528-3539.. A RECORD TO BE PROUD OF In all of Ontario there are only 6 municipal- ities that have lower Hydro rates than Lucknow: However due to increased costs to the'Lucknow Hydro Sys- tem for power supplied by Ontario Hydro, materials• and Sup- plies used in line construction, operation, and maintenance, ex-- pansion and growth, salaries and wages, it has become neces- sary to increase the hydro rates to you, the • customer. The new , rates will become effective on all bills issued on and after April 1, 1976. You have our assurance that we' will continue to tight rising costs to the best of our ability through efficiency and good man- agement. And you can expect us to receive top value from each dollar spent on your behalf. We are determined to maintain el- ectrical service' as the best bargain in the •family budget. .l.UCKNOW HYDRO.. SYSTEM. 5.0c . WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 290976 THE LUCKNOW SENTINEL, LUCKNOW, ONTARIO PACE ;EVEN. Whigliam liospjlid Board Discusses New EMphasis an Public Relations. The Wingham.' and District" Hospital Board will inidate, , a' 'public relations campaign withiti the next few. weeks •to ' retain, patients that to date have 'been referred to London for operations .and'treatinent, This depision was made at a regular meeting of the board Monday. The decision was motivated by a' report presented to' the board by Executive 'Director Norman Hayes and followed a ,lengthy discussion on 'the implications of the Ministry of Health's an nounced decision to close hospital' beds in Huren County. , A motion that the discussion be conducted in "committee of the whole", i.e:, not for public issue, made. by Dr. J: C. McKim and' supported by Several other members of the board was de- feated by a small majority. Dr. McKim said he feared that opinions expressed during the discussion. might 'result in exag- - gerated headlines and mistmder:. standing. • Mr. Hayes, however, asked the board to keep ' the discussion open. "If the boards are going to continue to exist, they haVe to Startmaking themselves heard," he said. He also urged board members to establish a stand on the issues. "I think it's absolutely necessary that the Wingham and District Hospital formulate a position as far as the county and the provinee are concerned," Said Mr. Hayes. • Closing Active Beds A major part of Mr. Hayes' report Centred- on in analysis-.of the current situation and, Pe silk effetts of ministry desision$ on the Wingham and Distriet Hospital. "First and foremost ef' the problems;" he told the Ward, "is the closure Of active treat- ment beds across the province." The ministry his slated 3,000 hospital bed closures in the prov- ince as, the target for 1976. The , figure for closure in Huron County is 99. Mr. HaYes' report indicated two possible means to achieve this' end. Either the ministry could close total hospitals or the five major hospitals in the county could each lose a proportion of beds relative to the proportion of referred active treatment pa- tients in the community. The first: alternative action weld have an indirect impact on . the Wingham hospital since Stan- ley Martin, deputy minister of 'health, earlier assured the board that there is no plan afoot to close this hospital. "In this regard, and considering the- proximity of othei• institutions, Clinton, and Eketer would appear to e the two hospitals most likely affect- ed," Mr. Hayes said. He hastened to add that' this last ' statement is only his own opinion, mit- fact. "It must be pointed out' "that the abeve is purely speculation at this point; there has, been no indicationfrom the Miniatry,as to pow beds are to be rechiped." ,More Admissions Bedclosures in other hospitals or "closure of another hospital would, however, indirectly affect the Wingham, hospital, Mr. Hayes continued. He suggested that area admissions might increase as a result and that the moire could also mean a, greater avail- ability of better qualified people. ' The program of closures could also result in a. demand for in-- creased productivity from the existing staff. :at the Wingham hospital to deal with the possible increased demand for service. A letter from the deputy minister of health -dated Dec. 1, 1975 states firmly: "No additional costs will be allowed in respect olincreases 'in in-patient volume, and no re- quests for full-time or part-time staff increases 'will be„ enter- • tamped." - Mr..Hayes urged the .board to resist any. attempt to close beds here.. He presented statistics support the efficiency rating of the Wirigham hospital. Informa- tion- extracted from the Ontario Hospital Association and Statis- _ tics Canada for January to June in .1975 indicates • that the. Wingham 'hoSpital -has lower average costs per patient day and shorter length of Stay than the provincial average and higher percentage oecupriney. The statistical report for the Wisigliatzt beSpital for 1976 'also suppoirts the' claim of efficient. operatiim, Mr. HaYes said. "We're .getting better all the Agternsitives "I think we have'to decide what we're going to do," Mr. Hayes told the board. He said there• are four alternative stands to take on ' the issue: support bed closures on a . county-wide basis; support in- dividual hospital closures; sup- port the status-quO; or combine any of these into one position for the hospital. • . IVIr, Hayes also told the board that the hospital. should start, on ,an. active campaign to retain "referral patients" in Wingham. He said there. were 1,30b patients (19.73 figures) , that could have been treated at the Wingham hospital if patienti could be in- duced to .see the hospital "as a viablealternative to treatment in London", ThiS wouldmean an in- creaSe of 26 bed- equivalents based on 'an average length of • stay. "If we close • beds in Huron County becauSe we are shipping people South, we lose jobs: In the • New Aid 'FOr--. Failed Lungs It will never replace the real thing,, but Some day an artificial ,. lung .may be available for short, term emergencies. Such a device is flow being tested. It is to be used during ,acute respiratory failure - the critical inability of the lungs to do their jobs. To get oxygen' into the blood and to get carbon dioxide ,,Acute respiratory failure can result froma number of conditions, not just a pulmonary disease. It can occur, 'for example, because of drug intoxication,, electric shock, or the failure of another organ. Its death rate is high. More effective treatment for it is a primary need. This experimental artificial lung is nowhere near as efficient as the human lung. The artificial lung is made of a very thin silicone rubber, shaped into, a fiat sleeve wrapped round and round a' spool. Blood 51 in Brum are treated for rabies WALKgRTON -- Bruce County had its worst year for rabies in 1975, Dr. D. R. Allen of Walkerton, director of the Brace County Health Unit said. Fifty-one people who had contact with infected -ani- malsrequired anti-rabies vac- cine treatment. Most of the people treated were from far& families and the expOlture in most crises came fkmn 'drenching cattle , er horses. "Our over-ail, goal is to Min- imize. ...or'suppress unneces- sary treatment since this in itself is not without hazard," . Dr. Allen said. • Many cases, require consul- talon with the family physi- cian .as to 'the, asvisability of instituting treatment as rec- ommended by the Ontario' ministry of health, the doctor said. There were 168 confirmed cases of rabies in the county last year, including foxes, 57; skunks,, five; cattle, 92; horses, four; hogs, two; eats, 13- and dogs, 2. ' - Clinics for pets will be held throughout the county this spring by the staff of the, Walkerton 'office of the fed- c, eral 'department of agricul- ture. long run, we lose even more than that," Mr. Hayes cautioned. Board Chairman De Witt Miller said 'he agrees that something must be done to retain the refer- ral patients in VVingharn. :"They (the patients)' feel the very best is in the city," he explained. "This is 'the thinking of the average person. Of course, it isn't true.'',' Dr.' McKim explained that , much of the problem' is based on the referral pattern of physicians and agreed that' a change is needed. • "ItTa question of how 'you im- plement it," said Dr. •L: 'L. Clarke. "A lot of people feel very strongly about their freedom, of choice, People prefer to go, to London. It's a thorny issue." 'Lir. McKim proposed that the ' board implement a campaign to ' improve the image of• the hospi- tal, stressing the services avail— able and the quality of treatment. The board agreed and Voted to refer the matter to the public re- lations committee Which is sche- duled to meet shortly to prepare . the propim. n d )f. in :e la SS from a patient's vein is circulated between the layeri of this coiled sleeVe, and oxygen. is diffused through the sleeve into the blood. The thinnest practicable rubber membrane is far thicker, however, than the natural tissue. The total gas-exchange surface of the artific- ial lung is only about one-fifteenth that of the human lung. But then the artificial lung is meant to, take over only during the emergency period. • A three-year test program was established last year. .Its objective is to compare the effectiveness of the artificial lung with other forms of • treatment, of acute respiratory 44 ","