The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Our hospital is for everyone An open letter to the people of Halton Hills I recently sent a fundraising letter for Georgetown Hospital's annual Spring Appeal to many homes in Halton Hills and our neighbouring communities. I would like to thank the many, many people of Halton Hills, Brampton, Mississauga and elsewhere who have responded with generous donations. We are on track to have one of our most successful Spring Appeals ever and I am personally very humbled by this support and very grateful for what it means for healthcare at Georgetown Hospital. A few people have written back to me sharing a concern they have. It is also a concern that has been expressed in letters to the editor published in this newspaper. They tell me they have chosen not to donate to Georgetown Hospital because the hospital, and the emergency room (ER) in particular, is caring for people from outside the boundaries of Halton Hills and these people are being given the same level of care as those who live in Halton Hills. They have suggested they will not donate to help Georgetown Hospital until the hospital adopts a policy of making people who do not reside in Halton Hills either wait longer and/or pay more or go elsewhere for care. Now, a decision whether to make a charitable donation is very personal and there can be many very good reasons why somebody would be unable to, or choose not to make a contribution. However, I would like to suggest that the fact that our ER is shared by people from neighbouring communities is in no way a valid reason for withholding support for our outstanding community hospital. I would like to share what I feel are the three most important ideas to keep in mind on this issue: 1. Healthcare in Ontario is provided in a province-wide system where anyone can use their health card wherever the care they need is provided. We are very fortunate in Halton Hills that donors to Sunnybrook Hospital don't mind that we use their trauma unit or that donors to Sick Kids Hospital don't mind when we airlift our children to their hospital in Toronto when we need them to save the life of someone who lives in Halton Hills. Thankfully, the donors and taxpayers who support Credit Valley Hospital, Brampton Civic Hospital and Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital don't seem to mind when we visit "their" hospitals so we can receive the orthopaedic surgeries, radiation or chemotherapy treatments for cancer, MRI tests, heart surgeries, high-risk maternal-newborn care, thoracic surgeries, mental health care and all of the many other healthcare services unavailable in a hospital of Georgetown's modest size. I am personally grateful that I can be seen by the specialists that I require at McMaster Hospital in Hamilton who are best equipped to help me with my treatment for ALS and I am thankful we have Receive up to $100 Onboard Credit per Stateroom 7 Independent & Free Press, Thursday, May 26, 2011 Dr. Jeff Sutherland Guest column a healthcare system in Ontario where we do not have to pay extra and go to the back of the line to receive care that doesn't happen to be provided in our own backyard. I am grateful to the donors and taxpayers in our neighbouring communities who have invested in these excellent healthcare facilities that are close enough to Halton Hills that my family and my patients can benefit from their care. I am particularly grateful they don't check my address at the door to decide whether to make me wait longer, pay more, or go somewhere else. 2. The fact that some people whose home address is Mississauga or Brampton choose to come to Georgetown for emergency medical care has not stopped us from being the top performing hospital in Ontario for improving ER wait times and achieving a success rate of more than 92% when it comes to having ER patients admitted within the targeted time range for quality care. In fact, thanks to people from outside Halton Hills using our ER, we have achieved patient volumes high enough to justify additional funding, a CT scanner license, two full-time surgeons, two full-time obstetricians and other benefits that would likely be unavailable with lower patient volumes. 3. The percentage of patients at Georgetown Hospital who are from outof-town is right in line with the percentage found at hospitals across Ontario and, when asked, the people of Brampton and Mississauga do make charitable contributions to the Georgetown Hospital Foundation. Approximately 12% of the Georgetown Hospital Foundation's donors live in these two communities. Most of these live in Brampton. Halton Hills is extremely fortunate to have such an excellent primary care community hospital so close to home. With 24-hour emergency care, obstetrics, general surgery, long-term care and palliative care, just to name a few of the important services provided here, many of our families' healthcare needs can be met without leaving our hometown. Again, my heartfelt thanks to the thousands of people in the community who generously support our important work. You are the number one source of funds for the equipment we need to provide the best care. We couldn't do it without you. --Dr. Jeff Sutherland is Associate Chief of Staff, Georgetown Hospital EXCLUSIVE ONBOARD CREDIT OFFER Book an Outside stateroom or above on one of our specially selected Royal Caribbean Voyages and receive: $25 - $100 per stateroom Onboard Credit Valid on new bookings made between May 16 ­ June 6, 2011 Call now to take advantage of this Exclusive offer Georgetown Onboard credit is in U.S. dollars, has no cash value, is not redeemable for cash, is not transferable and will expire if not used by 10:00 pm on the last evening of the cruise. This offer isvalid for NEW individual bookings only. THE OFFER CANNOT BE USED WITH CERTAIN FARES. This offer cannot be combined with any coupon on the same sailing. Offer is applicable to Outside staterooms and above, unless otherwise noted. Subject to availability. Offer is not combinable with any other promotion or offer unless expressly stated therein. Singles paying 200% are entitled to full face value. Discount applies on a per stateroom basis, double occupancy. Prices vary by ship and sailing date and space is subject to availability at time of booking. Ships registered in the Bahamas. 905-873-2000 328 Guelph St. Georgetown, ON TICO Reg #50018501 Open Saturdays 9am - 4pm w w w. v i s i o n 2 0 0 0 t r a v e l . c o m