Huron Expositor, 2006-05-03, Page 11The Huron Expositor • May 3, 2006 Page 11
News
Provincial grant reducing Alliance wait times
Jennifer Hubbard
Reduced wait times are expected
to have 150 additional Huron
County residents seeing clearly this
year.
Clinton Public Hospital and
Huron -Perth Healthcare Alliance
(HPHA) representatives met with
Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell
on Monday morning as $112,500 in
provincial funding for cataract surg-
eries was announced.
"Our government's Wait Time
Strategy continues to provide people
in Huron -Bruce with faster access
to better health services," Mitchell
said. "This investment will ensure
that patients continue to receive the
care they need, and that they
receive it more quickly."
Monday's Wait Time Strategy
announcement is part of an overall
investment of $222 million to fund
154,000 new procedures
provincewide.
Mitchell said the funding coin-
cides with her government's release
of updated and comprehensive wait
times data.
"In the public there's a sense of
why wasn't this done sooner. Before
there was no baseline data and now
that we developed that data we
have for the first time a point to
move forward from," she explained.
"Now we know if we are improving."
According to www.ontariowait-
times.com, during the last six
months cataract surgery median
wait times dropped 21 per cent.
Times for hip and knee replace-
ments decreased 19 and 17 per cent
respectively and cancer surgery
wait times dropped by four per cent.
Local data shows the Clinton hos-
pital completing 636 cataract cases
in 2005, up 160 cases from 2004 fig -
ures. Cataract wait times have
decreased from 14 months to 78
days within the HPHA, which is the
Ontario median wait time.
"I'd dare to say we've increased
our numbers 30 per cent in the last
year under the strategy," Dr. Peter
Salsbury said.
While surgeries are performed by
four London opthalmologists on a
rotating basis, all nursing, adminis-
tration and anesthesia duties are
performed by local staff members,
Salsbury added.
HPHA chief executive officer
Andrew Williams thanked. Mitchell
for her commitment to improving
health care in Huron County.
"Clinton's primary focus is on
Huron and Stratford's is on Perth.
We're hearing that people are
appreciate not having to go to a city
for their cataract surgeries," he
said. "We'll continue to assess what
p21 AtoAKM
West Coast Kitchens Award winning staff. Front L -R: Jan Hartford,
Linda Reaume. Back: Bob Smyth, Pat Hildebrand and Claude Reaume.
Claude and Linda Reaume, owners of West Coast
Kitchens in Goderich, are pleased to be the recipients of
this prestigious award. They would like to thank their
knowledgeable staff, the Goderich & District Chamber of
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West Coast Kitchens.
Bob Smyth
West Coast
kitchens
ptudwinners
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Spirit ofSacceas Award
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West Coast Kitchens delivers.
West Coast Kitchens is proud to announce the addition of
Bob Smyth, to our award winning team. Bob brings 29 years
of kitchen design experience in Europe, Toronto and most
recently, Huron County. '
Bob's experience and customer service abilities fit well with
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take this opportunity to welcome his past clients and friends
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we are doing and identify ways to
improve."
Mitchell's May 1 announcement
also featured nearly $3.7 million for
the Grey -Bruce Health Services,
which will result in 520 additional
cataract surgeries, 243 more hip
and knee joint -replacements, 3,744
more MRI operating hours, 5,616
more MRI exams, nine additional
cardiac procedures -and 22 -more
cancer surgeries.
Late last week Perth -Middlesex
MPP John Wilkinson announced
$862,583 to perform an additional
245 surgeries at the Stratford
Hospital — 25 cancer, 120 cataracts
and 100 hip and knee replacements.
Williams said while specific fig-
ures are not known at this time,
some of that money will trickle
down to Seaforth Community
Hospital, which is a partner in
HPHA's orthopedic program.
"The Wait Time Strategy only
works if when we all work together
towards a common goal and that is
happening here," Mitchell said.
Vacancy left
on Alliance
board as
Seaforth rep
Bob Norris
steps down
Susan H u n d e r t m a r k
A vacancy has been created on the
Huron -Perth Healthcare Alliance for
a Seaforth-area representative as
Bob Norris, of Staffa, steps down
from the board.
Norris has served close to 15 years
on the Seaforth Community
Hospital board, the eight -hospital
Huron -Perth Hospitals Partnership
and the four -hospital Alliance since
it formed three years ago.
"He's been fabulous, a good, com-
mitted, invaluable member," says
Seaforth Community Hospital site
administrator Mary Cardinal.
The Alliance is currently accepting
applications to fill the vacancy.
Cardinal says there are so far no
vacancies on the Seaforth Local
Advisory Committee but isn't cer-
tain yet if an LAC member might
want to apply for the Alliance board
vacancy.
Dick Burgess is currently the sec-
ond Seaforth-area representative on
the Alliance board.