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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 23 ,2 02 0 | 4 Canada's Largest Golf Show February 7-9, 2020 International Centre TICKETS ON SALE torontogolfshow.com • DEMO RANGE • LEADING INSTRUCTORS • GIVEAWAYS &MORE! PRESENTEDBY Find local professionals here every Thursday! For advertising information please call 905-234-1018 or email kkosonic@theifp.ca Professionals Ask the 905-877-CARE (2273) DR. ANOOP SAYAL DR. ANOOP SAYAL Family and Cosmetic Dentistry located in Georgetown Marketplace Mall Q: Do you have any tips on how to tame my dentalanxiety? A: It's a well-known fact in this country that largenumbers of people are afraid of going to their dentists. Some people are so afraid that they neglect even the routine examinations and professional cleanings. It doesn't have to be that way. Here are some tips to help reduce your anxiety. First, see your dentist before treatment is needed. Get to know your dentist and get comfortable discussing your concerns with the dentist and staff. Set your appointments for a stress-free time of day, not on your lunch hour or immediately after work. Second, have the dentist explain the dental treatment to you. Knowledge of the procedure should let you be more relaxed. Third, let your dentist and hygienist know that you're scared. It's nothing to be ashamed of and you're most certainly not their first patient to feel that way. Fourth, understand that times have changed. There are new methods of controlling and eliminating discomfort that weren't available until recently. Don't let dental fears keep you from having a healthy mouth and teeth. As the Province gears up to revamp Ontario's public-health system, the Region is urging the Ford government to leave Hal- ton's health department alone. Halton staff and council members recently deliv- ered this message to pro- vincial officials who are conducting consultations on the topic, with a discus- sion paper on public- health modernization serv- ing as the basis for the ses- sions. Since the proposal to re- place Ontario's 35 health units with 10 regional pub- lic-health entities first came up last year, Halton had advocated that it should continue to provide local health services, and that council should remain as the board of health to maintain accountability and streamline adminis- tration. "Changes to the existing organizational structure and governance model in Halton would cause dis- ruptions to service deliv- ery, and could be compli- cated and costly," said Med- ical Officer of Health Dr. Hamidah Meghani as she reiterated Halton's submis- sions to the Province dur- ing council's Jan. 15 meet- ing. The discussion paper seeks input on four key challenges when it comes to public health: insuffi- cient capacity, duplication of effort, inconsistent pri- ority setting, and misalign- ment of health, social and other services. On the priority setting front, Halton Hills Council- lor Jane Fogal contended there should be inconsis- tencies across the prov- ince. "If we don't have a cook- ie-cutter approach, it does seem that priorities would be different in different ju- risdictions, like in north- ern Ontario," she said. "We should be tailoring our pri- orities to our locale, not trying to be homogenous." Fogal, who was among the local politicians taking part in the consultation with the Province, said she hopes the Ontario govern- ment is listening to the feedback it's receiving. "If they want to improve the system, they were given hints about how to do that, and meddling with us was not one of them," she said. "They say they have these goals, and as if changing everything will make it true, but I don't think it will." When it comes to the alignment of health, social and other services, Megha- ni pointed to the partner- ships the health unit has al- ready established with lo- cal hospitals, school boards and more. "Given the strong rela- tionships in the communi- ty, along with the size of the population, Halton feels it's important to maintain the boundaries of the public health unit so as not to dis- rupt these key relation- ships," she explained. To reduce duplication of efforts, Meghani suggested the Province could create things like Ontario-wide electronic medical records and an immunization reg- istry. Halton officials used the consultation opportunity to remind the Province that its public health fund- ing has not kept pace with the rate of growth, with the Region routinely contrib- uting funds from its coffers to maintain local services. The Province has also released a discussion pap- er on the modernization of emergency health servic- es. Halton director of para- medic services Greg Sage attended the consultations to push for the moderniza- tion of the local EMS dis- patch system, among other things. Regional Chair Gary Carr will now write to Pre- mier Doug Ford, health minister Christine Elliott and her advisor, Jim Pine, reiterating Halton's posi- tion. The Province will con- tinue gathering feedback on the topic until Feb. 10. COUNCIL HALTON WEIGHS IN ON PUBLIC HEALTH OVERHAUL MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@ metroland.com Halton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hamidah Meghani Halton Region screenshot "Changes to the existing organizational structure and governance model in Halton would cause disruptions to service delivery, and could be complicated and costly." - Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hamidah Meghani