3 5 | T h u rs d a y O c to b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | w w w .in s id e h a lto n .c o m Health by M arta Marychuk Oakville Beaver S taff "Connected to your Community" Halton Region seeks meeting with health minister The report from an expert panel on the future of Ontario health care has Halton Region worried. To the point of calling for a meeting with Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Dr. Eric Hoskins to discuss a report from the Minister' s Expert Panel on Public Health. The report, which is entitled Public Health within an Integrated Health System, proposes extensive changes to the delivery and governance of public health. The report was released in June of this year. "This expert panel report and the subsequent conversations that follow are important first steps to help us realize a truly integrated health care system that includes all programs and services such as hospitals, home and community care, primary care and public health," said Hoskins in a media release when the report was released. "These strong connections will ensure that Ontarians are receiving sustainable health care services that will enhance their health and well-being at all ages and stages of life," Hoskins added. Councillors expressed concerns about recommendations in the expert panel' s report and the impact on the community during the Oct. 11 meeting of Halton Regional council. Halton Hills Regional Councillor Jane Fogal said she had many questions regarding the report. "Things have not been sorted out (in the report) very well," Fogal added. "This is a very concerning turn of events," she added. Regional Council is frustrated that the recommendations did not address long standing concerns that have been raised by Halton Region, related to chronic underfunding of public health and the current boundary of the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) in Halton. Halton Region currently delivers a wide variety of public health programs. The expert panel' s report recommends a new governance model for public health that replicates the LHIN structure and disconnects public health from social and community services. This model creates significant concerns, according to Halton. "If implemented, the expert panel's recommendations will not address the Region' s long-standing concerns related to the realignment of the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) boundaries and the significant provincial $ 9 .7 million annual funding shortfall for health programs," said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr, in a media release. "The expert panel' s report provides no evidence that health outcomes or community well-being will be enhanced if the recommendations are implemented," added Carr. Halton Region Chair Gary Carr Two local women sponsoring forum in Oakville on Lyme disease by Tim Whitnell M etroland M edia W est Two Halton women are sponsoring a public forum on Lyme disease. Jennifer Kravis of Oakville and Sue Faber of Burlington, the co-founders of LymeHope, are presenting a talk entitled A Panel Discussion: Lyme Disease in Canada. It takes place Friday, Nov. 3 from 7-9:30 p.m., at Clearview Christian Reformed Church, 2 3 0 0 Sheridan Garden Dr., Oakville. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Faber, a registered nurse, and Kravis, a lawyer, have Lyme disease as do some of their children. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the bite of ticks, usually deer or black legged ticks. The tick bites an animal infected with Lyme, often birds, mice, deer or some small rodents, who may transmit the disease to other animals or humans. On its website, the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation states that early treatment of Lyme is critical. It is treated with antibiotics for its control and possible cure, but it is a disease whose symptoms and severity vary from person to person; they can present themselves early on or not until weeks or months after infection. Undetected and untreated, those with Lyme can end up chronically ill, often exhausted, severely debilitated and unable to work. Lyme Disease' s symptoms can mimic many other diseases such as Fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS and various psychiatric illnesses including depression. The Nov. 3 talk will define Lyme disease, discuss its effect on pregnant women and go over current research. Guest speakers include: Dr. Ralph Hawkins, Site Lead for General Internal Medicine at the Calgary South Health Campus and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Calgary; Dr. Tim Cook, medical director of P3 Health: Personalized, Participatory and Preventive, Toronto, and an Internal Medicine and Integrative Health Specialist; Melanie Wills, lead scientist at G. Magnotta Foundation for Vector Borne Diseases Research Lab at the University of Guelph; Sue Faber and Jennifer Kravis. Admission is free but donations will be accepted. An RSVP is required as space is limited. Fill out a contact page at http://www.lymehope. ca/contact-page.html. For more information, email info@ lymehope.ca. 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