OBSERVER NEWS |
Local health care gets $23-million boost
BY: MARC MIQUEL HELSEN
Faced with an aging population that continues to grow, the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN) got a boost this week when the province announced it would inject another $23.2 million into the local health-care network.
A 4.5-per-cent increase from last year, the grant will translate into an operating base of about $814 million for 2008-2009, compared to the previous year’s $795 million; and an operation base for hospitals of $535 million compared to last year’s $511 million.
“It is a good start to address the issues. Does it address them 100 per cent? No, but it is a good investment in our area,” said WWLHIN chief executive officer Sandra Hanmer.
One of the 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN) across the province, the Waterloo-Wellington outfit is charged with planning, integrating and funding health care services. Created by the provincial government in 2006, the not-for-profit corporations work with local health providers to determine priorities in the regions.
“It (funding) is a good step and as we continue to work with all of our providers of health services, we keep looking at creative and innovative ways to reduce duplication and ensure that the high quality care is available for residents in our area,” said Hanmer.
Of the $23 million in new funding, $13 million will cover base increases to the hospital operating budget; the remaining $10 million will go towards reducing wait times, small hospital allocations, and program growth.
Already burdened by growing wait times and a lack of beds, the area also faces additional stresses posed by an aging population.
“We are a growing population; the money is not enough to address all of our high-pressure areas so, our board has chosen to invest in three programs that provide services LHIN-wide,” said Hanmer, noting that additional dollars will go towards a LHIN-wide vascular surgery program led by Guelph General; a cardiac care program led by St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener; and a complex continuing care program steered by St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Guelph.
In addition, money will go to Homewood Health Centre to provide crisis mental health services in rural areas. Hanmer noted the funding will help reduce wait times, consequently allowing hospitals to do more surgeries (cardiac, cataract, hip and knee replacements).
“In the case of MRIs and CT it means that we can operate the machines for more hours than we currently are; so, that allows us to hopefully reduce the time.”
Waterloo MPP Elizabeth Witmer, health critic for the Conservatives, called the funding inadequate, however.
“It isn’t going to cover all the inflationary pressures that hospitals have today,” she said, underlining issues like staff increases, energy costs and growth pressures.
“It is, unfortunately, not going to meet the demands of the hospitals who are being asked by the government to perform more in the way of services but aren’t being given the appropriate level of funding to provide the services to the patients.”
Drayton Kinsmen to get $149K in
Trillium funds
» Money will help fund service club’s Trees for Mapleton project, hiring of agri-forester
BY: VANESSA MOSS
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) announced Apr. 7 it will provide $149,900 over three years to the Kinsmen Club of Drayton to support the Trees for Mapleton project, which involves strategically planting several million trees in Mapleton Township.
In total, 31 grants totaling $1,690,700 were doled out in Waterloo, Wellington and Dufferin counties to enhance community spaces.
The Kinsmen portion will allow the Trees for Mapleton Steering Committee (TMSC) to hire an agri-forester, who will offer technical advice to landowners about where, what kind and how many trees to plant, said Gary VanAnkum, Kinsmen member.
Originated by the Wellington County Stewardship Council to address the lack of tree-cover in Mapleton, the TMSC developed partnerships with the Grand River Conservation Authority, Trees Ontario, the Green Legacy Nursery and the Kinsmen Club to push this initiative forward.
The economic, environmental and health benefits of trees – that act as wind breaks, shelter belts, living snow fences and stream buffers – are well worth the commitment of the greater community, said Paul Day, TMSC chair.
Lack of tree cover causes the average farm to lose about $20,000 per year because “the yield for quite a variety of crops can be increased by up to 20 per cent with the appropriate wind breaks,” he said.
Not to mention that tree cover can reduce the energy requirements of farm buildings, including homes, by 25 per cent, and can help moderate the climate, something the agriculture industry will rely on as it faces climate change.
When it comes to trees acting as living snow fences, they can save lives, Day said, and they also decrease the amount of salt needed on roads, which means less contamination of water wells.
These agricultural benefits were of great interest to the 18-member Kinsmen club, since half of its members are connected to that industry.
When Day asked them last fall to act as the link between the project and the OTF grant – which stipulates that the money be handled by a nonprofit agency – VanAnkum said they were glad to get involved.
“The Drayton Kinsmen Club is about serving the community’s greatest needs and the environment, I would say, would be right up there with one of the greatest needs.
“It was pretty exciting when we actually found out we did get the grant.”
The MTSC, its partners and the landowners will be working together over the next two months to hire the forestry expert, who will be based in the Mapleton Township office.
“It’s just a matter of finding the right guy and we would like to get going sooner than later, but we also want to be quite particular on who we hire for this position,” VanAnkum said.
Although the grant is just one small part of a larger initiative, it is the “critical part,” Day said, adding that this will be an ongoing project for many years to come.