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6 ·The IFP· Halton Hills ·Thursday, May 31, 2012 OPINION Invest in care Not every community the size of Halton Hills is blessed to have a hospital as good as Georgetown's. It has served this community well since the doors first opened in 1961-- 51 years ago. Back then the million-dollar facility had a total of 64 beds and $250,000 was raised in the community to build it. Times have changed. The needs are greater today, as is the demand from the population for quality health care. Thus, Georgetown Hospital is entering a new phase in its history. A rebirth, so to speak, with a $14.2-million expansion project that will see, among other things, new emergency and diagnostic imaging departments and a CT scanner. The hospital's current ER department is sized to handle roughly 14,000 cases a year. Currently 32,000 people a year come through the doors looking for help. This renovation is long overdue and desperately needed. The hospital's Investing in Care-- Close to Home fundraising campaign's goal is $6.5 million. A total of $4.5 million has already been committed to the goal which leaves $2 million more to be raised. That's where YOU come in. We don't expect donations like Fred Helson's generous $1 million contribution to be the norm but everyone can do their part. A Park Public School student named Irene donated $305 from her birthday money to the cause, as did Gavin Conroy who donated $120. Can you spare the money from your garage sale? Perhaps a portion of the proceeds from other charitable events can be directed towards the hospital project? How about good corporate citizens stepping to the forefront? Schools can also pitch in. It doesn't matter if you give a little or a lot. Just give-- for the health of it. 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@theifp.ca) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@theifp.ca) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@theifp.ca) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@theifp.ca) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@theifp.ca) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@theifp.ca) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@theifp.ca) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@theifp.ca) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@theifp.ca) Letters policy Letters must include an address and daytime phone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. Publication is not guaranteed. Email: jmcghie@theifp.ca Steve Nease Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. Letters to the editor Patient praises local hospitals Dear editor, I've experienced a variety of health crises over the last year, all of which I am recovered from, but only because I live here. If I were born or living elsewhere I could easily be broke or dead or both. My direct comparisons would be how drastically one's quality of life would be affected by just surviving the financial consequences of life-saving treatment just across the border in the United States; and how, in Haiti, another nearby neighbour where I have worked, I would not have made it to near my current age given the health cards I have been dealt. My chances, and yours, of ripening into old age are fantastic right here in Halton Hills, and I profoundly appreciate that. One recent setback took me in the same day to both Georgetown and Milton District Hospitals -- two sites of the Halton Healthcare Services umbrella, along with Oakville, that we depend on to health-protect our communities. Triage was efficient and expedient, personal interactions were professional and caring, the medical team and support equipment and services were the best on the market. The outcome: relief, improvement in wellness, confidence in the future and a sense of pride in community. I know we have overwhelming challenges to the system with cost control, wait times, and eliminating error. However, it is so much better to have something worth fixing than to have something badly broken or almost nothing at all. I read that Georgetown Hospital Foundation is fundraising for even better care close to home. They can have whatever spare dollars I have or can help raise. Eric Doubt, Georgetown to look at their event viewer showing them a bunch of errors, explaining that they're bad and that they'll fix it for a fee. Even on a brand new computer there will be errors. This is normal. If you didn't initiate the call, DO NOT let them into your computer. If you have received such a call, I suggest contacting Halton Police 905-878-5511 and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-4958501 to report it. If you've let them into your computer, I strongly advise you to take your computer to a repair centre to have them purge any access they may still have and any malware they've infected you with. Leeann Carlson, Nova Computers, Georgetown WEB POLL RESULTS (Go to www.theifp.ca) The Town celebrated Bike to Work Day Monday. Would you ever consider riding a bicycle to work? · No. It's not feasible (78%) · Yes. I'd love to (22%) Beware wary of computer scam Dear editor, I own a local computer store in Georgetown and I'd like to make the community aware of a growing concern. We've heard of hundreds of people receiving scam phone calls that claim to represent "Microsoft" or "Windows". They've asked people to turn on their computer Lost wallet returned Dear editor, Georgetown is awesome. Where else can you drop your wallet and have someone anonymously mail it back to you? Thank you to whomever did this. This is why we live here. Dave Spencer, Georgetown The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.