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Whitby Free Press, 4 May 1994, p. 1

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'No respcet for page 2 Buffett may seek nomination mae 4 soil to stay for now page 8 Fix-it listtob addesSed page24 Rehab role suggested forhosptal Famed peacekeeper MAJOR GENERAL Lewis Mackenzie, the top United Nations commander on the ground within the former Yugoslavia in 1991 and 1992, will speak to students from politios and histor classes at Anderson CVI next Monday morning, May 9. Mackenzie, who retired in 1993, served on several peacekeeptng missions durinp his 30-year career, and was chose n Maclean's magazine most successful Canadian for 1992. By Mke Kowalsi A.major shift in h.alth care services has been proposed for Whitby Général Hospital. A long-awaited study of acute care heaith needs in Durham Région confirms that significant changes are planned for the 25- year-oid hospîtal. Tii. Durham Région District Heaith Council study recom- mends converting the hospitai te a facility devoted soiely te the practice of rehabiiitative medi- cîne. As fyi»it reported in The. Fr.. Press last December, the $342 000 study proposes that Whitly Général become a rehabi- litation treatment centre serving ail of Durhamn Region. Services associated with a general hospital will no longer b. off.red in Whitby shouid the proposai, if endorsed by the hIath council, b. approved by the Ontario government Whitby résidents requiring géneral medical care would b. treated at either Oshawa Général Hospital or Ajax-Picker- ing Géneral Hospital, the study Alffthough the study is not yet r.ady for officiai release, hospitai officiais have confirnied what has been a source of spéculation in Whitby for more than a year. «In terms of acute car. services we wili ceas. te provide theni,» said hospitai board chair Ed Buf- Whitby man helps rescue Metro cabbie A Whitby man has been r.com- mended for a civilian commenda- tion for his roi. in puiiing a driver out of his burnhing cab> Sunday ini Toronto. Police aty ick Jackson, 41, a residential car. worker at Har- bour Ligit drug and alcohol rehab centre and Mark Wil- liamis,32, oToronto probabiy saved thé. lifé of rooke tai driver AUi Guled. Guled,4 a Somali refue fcr144. colid.dwiha tuk f Jarvi CondShter streets i Toronto around 11:30 p.m. Sun- ea~ engine of the propane- powered cab caught fire and the. fiaines began spreadin* Jackson says Gul appeared disoriented and he tred te open the. car door te get hi out but it was jam.d. The two mon then shattered a window and puiled the injured cabbie fre..1 They had dragged hîm some 30 feet away from the. wreckage when the. car biow up, police say. fett. 'TMe hospitai will b. totaily revaxnp.d and there wil have te b. a major refiguration of the physicai plant,»"lhe said. But stressing that h. was speaking oniy as a member of the health council acuto car. study steerinig committe., and not the. hospitai board, Buffett nonetheless endorsed the report's recommendations. «This wili b. on. of the. larg.st rehlabilitation centres in Ontario," h. said. «Tuis offers us an opportunity te specialize in an area, whereé there's a lot of demand.» According te Buffett, the hospi- tai wiil b. divided fite four major sections wth eacii offer- biem. Tii. four sections wili inciude orthopedic, cardiac, and trauma rehlabilitation, as well as a "non- spcfic» area for treatin g such afflictions as multiple" scierosis and nervous disorders, Buffett said. «It really covers a broad spec- trum. In each category thero wiii b. a number of sub-categories that have yet te b. defined,-» h. said. In addition, there wiil b. some out-patient services, but these, too, have flot been specifîcaly' deïaîled, Buffett said. I Athough the study is not expected to be ready for public consumption before mid-May, Buffett believes that Whitby rosi- dents wili support a new role for their hosopitai.. Hosp»ital officiais from neiàçh- bouring municipalities promise that their medicai requirements wili be met, he notes. "W're toid that the health caue needs of people in tihe com- munity wiii be addressed, whether at Oshawa Generai, Ajax or at Whitby,» said Buffett. "I think there was a spirit of co-operation at the table (steer- ingoommidttee). It leaves me with te feeling. that Oshawa and Ajai-Pickern,ý view us as part of their market he said. As for WAtby Generai that facility now has a "cIeariy defined roi.» which wiii b. "pomitive for the community,' said Buffett., .Since 1969,. .the hospitai has tried to meet the. needs of Whitby residents, but has often "frustra- ted» them when it cazinot provide servies the community expects, Buffett said.- We a geieral hospitai in naineoniy,» he slid. "People perceive you te b. a genral hospitai, but they becmefrustrated when you can't deliver service, such as they cain't have chiidren in their own hospital.» Buffett expects the. major chal- lenge in sellingthe proposai wil b. clearing up tei. misconc.p- tion» that rehabilitation is equa- ted to chronic car. «Nothing could b. furtiier from the truth 'h. said. Rehaiitation is intended to get the patient «back into SEE PAGE 2 7

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