The Goderich Signal Star, 1976-04-08, Page 12•
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'PAPE 4,—,qop,Exiicki sIONAL-STAR, Ti-IVRSPA, APRIL 8,1976
aupipaopumulossmammammommood,,
EDITORIAL COMMENT
It's a crazy World, 'a world qUite-
unlike -the world of 10 years.p ago; (*1
years ago, 50 years ago. !VS &world in
' which people of all ages need to. make
Many adjustments in a lifetime: Bjt
it's a world W,orth changing for, a world
• .1 •
worth working for. ,
Sometimes it is difficult to un-
derstand the need for all the , "red
tape"- which is constantly necessary in
everything. Sometimes ° it is 'ev.en a
little disconcerting far people who fear
• that)igning in triplicate for. even the
most minor things is just stuff—and
nonsense. •
There are times, ;though, when it
takes a little action to get action. One of
thOse times is now while the Gdderich
committee •appointed to look into
housing: for senior citizens is seeking
signatures of persons in the area who
are one day hoping to get inexpensive
centrally located living ac
p commodation in town. •
In order to qua"! Ts, for money to build
living quarters Suited to senior
•-Clitze-n,:' •ri necessary: to prove
need. That need may not be tor, today,
It Might be for next year or the year
after, but it is all need.
If 'enough senior citizens indicate
-• that they either dorequire noW Or will
. require in the future, accommodation
• in Goderich, the town planners can
convince government authoritieslhat
Money should` be. earmarked for a
senior citizens housing development
here. •
At the present time;about 40 persons
from the area have filled, in the
prepared questionnaires ,vilhich are
• provided at the town office, from the
building •-inspector or from John
• Lyndon of the housing authority.
But planners know that at least 70 or
80 more people are eligible for and
Probably will require, some kind.. of.
senior •citizen housingin the years
ahead. They also know that ,apart-
• rnents for senior citizens, located close
„ to the shopping district, the churches,
• the parks, the entertainment centres,
-rnust be planned now,. . . while land is
available and before the facilities are
'actually needed..
It only maket. sense; first you prove
the need, then you build the facility,
then yOu, fill it.
For this reason, all senior citizens
• .. are urged to fill in one of the question
• sheets necessary to 'prove a need for:—
housing.. you may never need it but at
least you will have done your part to
make it possible for ' the •arc-
commodatian to be provided for
someone else at somefuture date:
Sign • up senior. It's a necessary .
pracedure in- a changing world.-SJK
•
Good egtslation.
The. Ministry •of °Corranunity :and
Social Services has come out • with
• Sarrie,neW, legislation at the first of
April which promises to put an -end to -
•
Some. of the misuse of welfare
payments across the province. In fact,
there are indications that in teeming •
Toronto there was already a drop in
welfare recipients during February
and the chairfria'n ofthe Metropolitan..
Toronto Social Servfcei Committee
attributed it to • the Ministry an-.
nouncement that it intended fo tighten-
. up on the standards of public
assistance
Contrary to the belief of some Huron
CoUnty citizens; there is. a Minimal •
number of people in this county who
are actually on welfare. There may be
some misuse even so, but it appears
• :that Social Services Director John'
McKinnon and his -staff _here -are
• holding the reign fairly taut on welfare
recipients without being unduly harsh
• tn situatiOns where real need , is
• demonstrated anol proven.
Adm ittedlY, this may be more easily
accomplished in Huron than in some
places. The natural instinct of Huron
• citizens is to abhor welfare payments.
Very self-sufficient proud people in
Huron are reluctantto seek welfare -
assistance except in ;the most dire
cirdumstances.- There are some
pockets of heavy Welfare payments as•
well as some perennial welfare
• problems, throughout the county, but
• the general attitude toward welfare
here is healthy halt welfare abuse,
•make adequate payments to -those who
• genuinely require help.,
• New legislation makes if necessary
for welfare officers to- encourage
• recipients to take part-time orseasona I
• .employment.Previously, a welfare
recipient had the option to turn down a
job if it was not full time.
• The term "capable" has been
redefined., Previously, it had been -
•
translated to mean that a person was'
trained for a' particular jab. NOW,-
capable will mean sirnply that a person'
is physically able to do the job.
lfa person who is capable of working
refuses to accept a job, ' the new
regulations make it possible to cut off
•that . individual's public assistance ,
• entirely or reduce it significantly.
New legitlatiOn also provides that
the spouse of a recipient - of a child
.oyer the age of 16 Wholis not in sthoOl - „ -
bi d to k•
rk
e requ re see wo . .
lon-ger-be-iay for
welfare.recipients to club together in a
commune -type accOmModation, with
ach person collecting the maximum
:benefits allowable to a single person on -
welfare. Now, combined benefits for
two or more persons living together
can be reduced as much as 20 percent.
Arid finally, the new legislation •
• permits greater discretion in cases of •
unmarried persons under 18, years of
age who have left home to seek Welfare.
assistance. Young folks who leave
home for flimsy reasons, can now find
themselves on their own and -. minus
comfortable welfare benefits to see
them through, thanks to the new rules
set out by the Ministry.
• .„ . ••
All of these regulations are just
common sense decisions,. probably
• prompted in part by citizen disap- •
- proval of reported welfare waste. But.
• much, Of the new legislation was un-
doubtedly formulated on; the advice of
welfare administrators who have been
dealing with people at the grassroots 7
for years, • defining problems and
working toward solutions. •
The Ministry of Community and
'• Social Services has put -a-5;5 percent
ceiling on the growth of its share of
municipal public assistance in 1976.
• Fortunately, -the new legislation will
assist welfare administrators to cut
their budgeit sufficiently to. meet the
government's requir,ements while also
Curbing much of the public reaction to
• mounting welfare assistance bills.—
tiCht eobtritb
SIGNAL—STAR
The Co•Unty Town Newspaper of Huron — C —
° • •
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ateit Ode 519
published by. Signal -Star Publishing Ltd.
ROBERT *O. 'SHP! ER—pt;esident and publisher
• SHIRLEY J. KELL,ER--editor
JEFF SEDDoN—editorial staff •
Maiffita DAVE SYKES—editorial staff
li..0313.0X221$40,dVadsoltich EDWARD J. BYRSKI—advertising nianager
leilitestiOn• number -016 •
s • ,
•••
•
DEAR
Continuing on with the
seemingly ,endless saga of
hospitals and erideavouring to
present all points of view to •
provcke, . thought •arnong
Huron County residents, Dear
Readers this week will be the
reniarks thad.e byR. Alan
Hay, Executive Director Of
the Ontario Hospital
Association who. was a panel
member at a mid:March
Outlook and Isdues '76 Con-
ference of the ,Ontario
Economic Council. •
• The remarks are a critique
on the • Ontario Economic
Council's paper on Health, I
found 'Mr. Hay's comments'
provocative and informative.
I trust for those who read it
and digest it, it will provide
still Imre ideas to consider
• when forming a responsible
opinion about: the delivery of
health care servieds in
Ontario and HureintCOUnty..
Health serv-ices and health
costs are currently matters of •
much public debate in the
'legislature; in the media, and
'everywhere else, and I
congratulate the Council on
the fortuitous timing of this
Conference. I welcome every
. initiative that -4111 bring the
bright light of reason to shine:
Upon matter's that otherwise
may • become fogged by
ernotion. •
For that reason, Council
can be heartened by the
contribution to clear thinking
'made by much, but not all, of.
its paper on health. In
preparing my remarks, f
have assumed it would be
helpful if 1 focussed on par-
ticular points that seem tune.
, to cry out for emphasis or
• correction as a warm up for
the general discussion that is
going to take place later.
• The opening paragraph of
the introduction to the paper
• includes the statement, and
quote, "The health- care
sector has absorbed .a
growing share of the gross
produet". End of.
quote.
I 'regret &at, it isnot true,
and repeating a version pf
what the Economic CounaT of
canada said in .1970, and
since,, won't make it so'.
At: that time the ECC
gained a lot Of publicity 'by
making a dire prediction that
11"We didn't watch out, health
care would consume the
countrjes entire GNP by the
year 2000. It was roneated in
Ottawa last fall iby someone
Who..stierde it in A970 at the
1;'••-',......Tf.'•,...,..",",..3.."'",;"1".••••••••'"•"' •
•
Shirley 1 Keller
• , .
DEAR [011.1111
•
• Grateful •
• DearEditor:
The Goderich and District
Pro Life GrOup is deeply and
hurnbly grateful to all those •"
., who gave their time and
talents ip many ways to make •
the Varity Nite a success.
Apprdxirnately 300,• people .
pr mt yti eed n- the-t4ne mv• ee nn ti ni ng sot!
• Mary's School Auclitdriurn on
Friday,' April 2.
„. 'The attentiveness of the •
young people and children, as
. well as the adults, was .
evidence that thistype of high '
calibre entertainment was..
• welcomed by all.
Funds obtained ' will be ,
• ' sedby the Pro Life Group in -•
their .continuing efforts; to •. „
• protect the dignity of all life,,-
echspiledcia: lly that of the pre -born
• • • Sincerely,.
' 1 Mrs. John Austin - _
Goderich and District
Pro Life Group"
UFO committee
Dear Editor, .
We would like to inform -you
• and your „readers that • a —
Centre to investigate" and
• - -study the phendmenpn of
• Unidentified Flying Objects
• (UFOs) has recently been
. established in Toronto.
An independent private
- Canadian group; the. UFO
• Research Centre; • Ontario'
wilV seriously • and scien-.
• tifically study.' the complex
' arid• controversial .1.3F0
enigma. The Centre •• will
operate ' as a standing corn-
thittee of the Toronto Society
for Psychical Research, set
up in 1970 as a -ffiderally •
- registered not-for-profit
• institution. '
• 1 The Centre aims to be a
place :to which
. Can report UFO sightings or
experiences without fear of
• ridicule, and with assUrarice
that their reports will receive -
'serious attention •and be
treated in strict confidence.
We • aim - pursue a
scientific study of such •
• -reports, tobecome a"source Of
• -information .and undertake
very sae'meetinvhe Je pi-ec.iiin ably, the:. be scow, in group_p_CactiO for
pErb-1-ieedueation—programs
Federal Health and Welfare
MiniSter wastaying the facts
showedthat health costs over -
the years • have' stayed at
about :seven Percent of the
ctiuritry's GNP.
• In Ontario* at -the Ontario
Hospital Association coil::
vention last fall'we heard the
Hon. Darcy McKeough, the
Treasurer, say • such a
prediction is of course silly.
We in OHA know:that hospital
costs.. for the. 'last , six years
have been virtually steady at
either ' 2.4 percent or 2.5
percent :of the 'Gross
Provincial Product.
Therefore, we don't need to
be alarmed that costs are
somehow out of control They
are not. They are; however,
rising in total ,quite predic-
tably as the result of inflation
on a labour intense industry;
and because of the volume of
care beingt.provided._
With health cost§' virtnally
,a.constant percentage of the
GPP, the bill in dollars per
head of ,the population is not,
and Cpuncil is quite correct to
mention this in the opening
paragraph of -the in-
troduction'. •
Anntra4y, the . per capita
cost i risffig, and the obvious
question,„_ and one •Council
might . fairly ask, is whether
Ontario is'paying too much. Is
les § areasonable ex-
pectation? •
• Looking at • hospital
operating statistics available
quarterly we know this
province lies in the middle
between the highest and the
lowest cost .provinces, and
well ,below the United States,'
and it is worth noting that the
-Health Minister of Quebec
recently stated that average
hospital costs in his province
must come down because, as
he said, no longer could his
province pax 20 pertent more
than. Ontario. If the reverse
was true, tt would mean that
last year's hospitalbill in this
province would, ,have been
• $320 millions higher than it
was. Both-vve and our political
masters can be thankful that
it was not._
After IdOkin"g at the cost
picture' broadly as a per-
centage of GPP, and on a per
capita basis, I would now like
to turn to some.other points in
the Council paper.
On Page 3, it is said that
smolt hospitals are not very
efficient units of production
and, by, inference, that 150
beds is as small as they
. • •
Ministry. • of Health people
agree, because all except one
of those singled out for
closure recently are in that
category. I do not share this
yiew. •
The thin distribution -of
people across the vastness of
much. of Our provinee makes
-
a nonsense ,of any ideas of
eliininating -- all small
hospitals. They are
many places to provide
necessary health services,
and before Council condemns
them as inefficient, I. -suggest
we need to know more about
, the definition of what it calls
an .efficient hodpital Unit Of•
production. •
- Perhaps Couneil" should
additionally consider • the
value of a hospital as a social
and economic force within
sthall communities, and the •
value :of thern to the
provincial mosaic: I ask
myself how Council ap-
proaches that human
• economic 4uestion -in its bid
for province -wide
rationalization of - health
spending. •
Does it feel that special
consideration is warranted
• for the preservation of small.
• communities, or is that'
something for the politicians
alone tOworry about?
something different; after all
the members of the group
divide the money according
to a predetermined formula,
and the working of the fee
schedule is just one way •to
obtain the. , money to be
divided. ,
• OHA has proposed both to
the Ontario " Medical
Association's Study Com-
mittee under Mr. Pickering,
and in our response to the
Mustard Report, • that
physicians Whose , work is
virtually all hospital-based
should not be reimbursed on
an open ended fee-for-service
basis. We have suggested
instead" a negotiated salary,
because it could eliminate th4,„ Ontario • • •
• The OHA 'agrees with the_.
general propositiOns
• favouring • forrhs of group
practice advanced on Page 4,
but they pose their -own
i-..
•
problems too. Pothe patient,"
• solo practice ' means seeing
the doctor of choice each
visit. With a group, it can be
different. He must trade off
the _greater assurance of the
availability of a :doctor
against the fact that it- will not
• necessarily be his choice. .
There is no doubt that a
balanced group -practice can
offer the prospect of readily
accessible specialist
knowledge on'a wide range of
conditions, hut theimpact:
upon cost of trotting patients
in front of every specialist
down a corridor could be
heavy. We look forward to the
results of the experiments
currently being conducted by
the Ministry into different
approaches to rewarding the
members of • grout; practice
• clinics. That raises the'
question of, payment to
physicians. •
Softie people can become'
emotional about the sanctity
of the fee-for-service prin-
ciple. There would appear to
•
• about • UFOs, and to 'co-
'operate' • with other serious
• groups and individualS in the •
•field. Also, -We would like' to
secure the vOluotary services
of • _people such • as •
astronomers., „teeehers,
journalists and psychologists
" who have' special technical
knowledge/ skills or
, -relevant to 1.1F6
• research. ' ' • •
If you would like further
information about the Centre
•'please_ contact us* at the
address below. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Iris Owen (Mrs.)
Honorary Secretary.
• UFO Research Centre:
dilemma • of the physician, P.O. Box 427, Station F,
whose personal income gains ' , Toronto M4Y 2L8
from increasing, ratherThirin •
limiting, the volume of ser.- , Phone 416-964-0244
vices.the'hospital prOvides. '
•
,We have alsoproposed ,
ed that '
ill future negotiations bet-
-„'' Great effort '
ween the government arid the
Ontario Medical Association, " ,
the potential of the schedule . AN OPEN LETTER
ho services , . • TOTHE
services are provided be '
for influencing where and
More fully exploited, and that more
TRADE
hospital representatives Dear Editor, , • .
I would like to,, on behalf of. .
4.ishsoctialdsiobne .., apfresmenatttefor;, t-ife.. ...
'Hydrd in Western Ontario,
•
fecting them.
,jet me cite an example. Ontario Hydro and the
Toddy the tariff fOr a family Municipal Utilities' staff, for
practitioner's hospital visit is the co-operation received
ma jhgohnnt efaviri jsyit a$s1k2.0i0f. tCheoruenc:ls di
from mantifacturers,
distributors, and Contractors
an office visit $7.00 and
during the recent ice storm.
enough spread in those
figures to discourag,e up -While •HYdro people were busy repairing damage to
necessary hospital • ad- their systems, contractors ,
missions.
were simultaneously
On Page'6, ihe paper turns
rePairfng ' customers'
to alternatives to in-hospital darriaged equipment:
active treatment. OHA has no - As a result of eVerybody's.
tqhuatrreln wiinthtegtrhaetesdmcv
ugsgyesstteion. efforts, °the duraticih of.
•
aa
stonier tutages, while
needs to beprovided with a extreme in many cases, were
wide range of alterriativeS. kept to a minimum. We are
The impact of them uponcost all sincerely appreciative, of
needs watching. • the.customers' understanding
• I say that because OHA
-°situ ourtrespective
agrees with the Ministry's during . this emergency
a.probleins
contention that up to this ion
point the additional facilitie-s, Contractors worked long
1,
such as nursing homes •and hours in difficult conditions,
home care, have tended to - suppliers, kept their
,add to the hospital bill and not Operations open at all hours,
reduce it. They become add. ariA„,..wmanufacturers ;ran
ons, not alternagves.. ' special prdduction runs, all
Significantly, aimed at getting • thetly, the -Minister.
customer back on the line. i
is doing •ribthing at, all . to
expand nursing hOrrie.heds at
It wa'S a tremendous effort.,
a time when hospital betl.tre Thank you. ,
,
being reduced ClearlY his • Yours truly,
.philosophy appears to be that • ' E.G. $ainbridge
• a ' reduction of the most Regional Manager
popular and. expensive 'VVAtern Region. •
H
.(continued on page 5) ' - ' Ontario ydro
• express the appreiation of
....•
•