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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-12-07, Page 1PUBLISHED IN LUCKNOW, ONTARIO Wednesday, December 7, 1994 55° G S.T. Included MOH will ensure `continuity of care' at Pinecrest by Pat Livingston The firing of five registered nur- ses at Pinecrest Manor Nursing Home, in Lucknow, will not affect the "continuity of care." Kathy O'Reilly, RN, regional manager for the Ministry of Health's London Branch, told over 100 people at a public meeting last week that compliance advisors Margaret Bartlett and Lorraine Walsh have been involved with this facility in the past and quite fre- quently in the last couple of weeks. "Yes, we are very concerned about continuity of care and have increased the frequency of our visits. We arc very concerned with the general • welfare of the residents," said O'Reilly. `.`We're working with the facility to make sure care is maintained." Since the nurses were fired, the services of Para -Med registered nurses have been used at the home. Families expressed concern about this action saying these nurses arc not familiar with the residents and questioned the quality of care being provided. 47 locations on Hwy. 86 will get new .snow storage ditches by Pat Livingston Forty-seven locations along Hwy. 86, from just east of Amberley to just west of Wingham, have been identified by Ministry of Transpor- tation' patrols as in need of improved snow storage ditches. A' newlydesigned ditch will be installed on specific. sections to reduce drifting and white-out con- ditions. Max Peichanok, a ministry research scientist in Toronto, has for several years been, testing ditch designs in a wind tunnel and has come up with a wider steeper ditch to keep roads clearer from snow. In 1992,'Perchanok's model was used on a section of Hwy. 4 that was being rebuilt between Win- gham and Blyth. A public .meeting was held in Lucknow last week so affected residents or groups could view the proposed improvements and make any comments. Improvements include deepening and widening the ditch to allow for more snow. A steep slope on the ditch slows the wind and allows snow to drop into the ditch. Eastern white c •ar, that grow anywhere from si . nine feet at maturity, ill • "ate windbreaks that cause stir) o drop into the ditch. The roadbed is built'at a slightly higher grade than the surroundings so snow does not collect on the sur- face. The—project,—which-is-currently-in the ministry's five-year project (1995-2000), also includes structural rehabilitation on the Eighteen Mile River, Maitland River and Little Maitland River bridges; repair work to one concrete highway culvert and relocating entrance and sideroad culverts as required. In some areas, the new snoly storage ditches will mean that the ministry, must acquire adjacent property to accommodate those ditches. Brenda Koornnecf, Pinecrest administrator, said the Para -Med service was temporary but didn't know for how long, and that the quality of care was being main- tained. Phil Prince, Christian Labour Association of Canada union representative, said early in the meeting that "...our legal counsel has simply advised the registered nurses and myself not to make any specific comments on that matter. We have an obligation to review those terminations; it's before a tribunal and it will be pursued." Bartlett said they have been looking at independent residents and the care they receive compared to the care they should have received. "We have been there five times in the past two weeks," said Bartlett. "There are two particular residents I • talked to every day I was in there, and asked them if they were having any problems. They said there have been problems, but things are getting better. The residents' point of view is very much what we're looking for," said Bartlett. "There have been several issues, but when I checked back the next time there has been some action and followup." she said. "But how do you replace a friend?" queried a member of the audience, referring to the loss of nurses who were close the residents. • "That unfortunately is an area which I personally can understand, but as a compliance advisor 1 can't do too much about that," replied Bartlett. At this point, O'Reilly interjected to clarify the issue. "The. MOH's responsibility is to resident care, general welfare and to ensure they are safe and their health needs are •being addressed.... The MOH docs not have the mandate to go to an owner or licensee and say 'Thou shalt hire these people' or when they are fired 'Thou shalt. bring these people back'. ...As long as health care is being rendered to your loved ones in ' the .facility, that's as far as the ministry's responsibility goes," said O'Reilly. She said that the responsibilities of the MOH and management have to be separated. "There must be a bit of a problem, with the turnout of the people here," said Gloria Symes, a 20 -year employee at the home. "I can hardly imagine that with five RNs being terminated that it's just going to be washed down the road, because this is our community. This is where (Pinecrest) our loved ones - our relatives will be going. You're (MOH reps) concerned, but I'm concerned because I work there and eventually one of my loved ones will be in there, but with the firing Of five people - RNs - just down the tubes'? Ok, you guys can't do anything about it." Interrupting, Bartlett said, "Look at the people who turned out here... You are the people who have the ability to deal with those things." "But how do you deal with those concerns when there is a very bbd_ communication problem up there-T— asked here-Tasked the daughter of a resident. "As soon as we go in and complain, we're cut right down." Dr. Fred Janzen, who has owned Pinecrest for three years, agreed there is a communication problem. "It is one of my highest priorities," he said. "With so many people to deal with, communication problems can very easily aril;.." Bill Drennan, the son of one of the residents, lamented about the reputation of Pinecrest going downhill. "Pinecrest Manor, over the years, has had the best record; one of the best thought -of nursing homes in the area, until ap- proximately six or seven months ago when this started," said Dren- nan. "There's no doubt about it - check your records. Ask anybody in town and this is the answer you'll get. "Someone said you used to monitor this place every three to four months," said Drennan. "Now you're coming quite frequently. Why all of a sudden are we having this trouble? "There used to be a waiting list. My mother had to wait for a period •see It, page 3 Teachers accept`°two-year contract by Pat Halpin Bruce County elementary teachers have a new two year contract after voting 76 per cent in favour of the deal last Friday. The tentative agreement was reached in a negotiating session in Paisley that went into the early morning hours of Novem- ber 22 and was presented to the board of education trustccs later that afternoon. Trustees unanimously . en- dorsed the deal but refused to release any details until the teachers had voted on it; Teach- ers spokesperson Colleen Ba§tian said the new agreement is retro- active from September 1, 1993 and expires August 31, 1995. She called procedures covering surplus staffing and transfers of staff "the two real biggies" in the new contract. "We wanted the' wording very precise," Bastian said. "We want to know exactly how things are going to go when surpluses are declared. It is very clear lan- guage and very lengthy." The contract does not give teachers any increase in the salary grid or changes to class size and working conditions. A separate social contract agreement signed late laest month allows annual increases I for. teachers not yet at .maximum salary. It also sets the maximum number of Rae days teacher will take between now and 1996, but Bastian would not release that number. She said the number of Rae days for the coming school your will be made public when the new school year. calendars' arc finalized. Bastian was reluctant to make specific comments on details of •See Bargaining, page 3 Santa and Mrs. Claus were kept busy after Lucknow's parade last Friday, when area children had the opportunity to greet the couple at the arena. Santa listens attentively as little Emma Hackett quietly tells him what She's wishing for. Mrs. Claus mentally makes a note of the list to make sure Santa can check his list twice on Christmas eve. (Pat Livingston photo) Five tenders received ion arena project Five complete bids on Phase II of the arena complex were received, says Barry Johnston, chair of the building committee. Johnston said the tenders ranged from a low of $1.85 million to a high of $2.3 million. The committee met on Dec. 2 to review the bids and the facilitator, Multiplex of Port Elgin then met with the two lowest contractors to determine what their lowest prices would be after "takeouts." Johnston said there were around 18 takeouts. • He described a takeout, as an example, the cost of a 12 month ice system compared to a 9 month ice system. The next step is for the • finance committee to meet this• week and decide the total amount of funding that can be raised to pay for the project. A total of $1.324 million, which includes jobsOntario funds and commitments by local municipalities and service clubs, is currently ear -marked for the project. St. Joseph's principal has new job In its last major decision of the term, the Bruce -Grey Separate school board has hired a ^ superintendent of education. ' Board chair Bill Zcttcl said that the board selected Jane Whaling of the Goderich arca from a list of seven candidates interviewed. Whaling is currently the principal at St. Joseph's School', Kingsbridge, (Huron -Perth separate board), and was previously a vice-principal for the Hamilton -Wentworth, separate board. The new superintendent will take over the special education portfolio left vacant when former superintcn- : dent Rosemary Kennedy was named Directoi of Education for the board. Whaling will also take over super- vising the group of schools Ken- nedy was responsible for.