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A4 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER W ednesday February 16,2000 R egion's hospitals believe `em ergency ro o m ' crisis over By Ire n e G e n tle SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER The w orst is probably over for H alton's beleaguered hospital em er gency departments, the Region's health and social services committee heard last week. And a team of local health care trou ble-shooters are hoping to prevent a sim ilar crunch from developing next year, said Scott M cLeod, a senior health plan ner with the Halton/Peel District Health Council (HPDHC). "The peak activity actually seems to have passed," he said. "W e've struggled our way through another year." The relief is largely due to provincial )Little Caesars Pizza 1 Medium Pizza UNLIMITED TOPPINGS plus tax 2ND MEDIUM $5 . 9 9 + t a x 2441 La ke sh o re R o a d w e s t (B ro n te Village Mall) 8 2 7 -T 7 7 S 511 M ap le G ro v e R o a d (M a p le G ro v e Village) 8 4 2 -* 1 `1 '1 4 infusion of $196 million aimed at prop ping up Ontario's hamstrung health sys tem. The Dec. 23rd announcement award ed $5.5 million to Halton Healthcare Services (HHS) and $1.2 million to Joseph Brant Hospital. HHS operates the am algam ated Milton District Hospital and Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. The cash will be used to beef up nurs ing staff, as well as the numbers o f acute care, rehabilitation and long-term care beds. The annual holiday emergency room gridlock is caused by a combination of factors, according to McLeod. "W hat you're seeing in the em er gency department is not really an em er gency department problem," he said. "Current activities far exceed w hat the buildings were planned for." A nd that deficit becom es m ore noticeable over Christmas when many doctor's offices and clinics shut down. "Physicians are off and their record ings will say, `Go to the emergency department,' essentially," said M cLeod. The crisis is com pounded by the scarcity of long-term care beds in the region. "Because we can't m ove patients out into long-term care facilities, you end up with bed block," he said. "You can 't move people from the emergency depart ment into a bed." And a discrepancy between am bu lance and hospital procedures hasn't helped. "The hospital has a five point triage system and the ambulance has a five point triage system," explained McLeod. "And they are exactly opposite." To tackle the problem, the HPDHC hosted a series o f meetings with health professionals such as hospital CEOs, regional health department staff, Halton C om m unity Care A ccess Centre em ployees and front line hospital work ers last December. The meetings were called at the direc tion o f the Ministry o f Health and Long Term Care with the aim of finding ways to get through the busy season. "The message at that point from the CEO group is there is no long-term solu tion unless we can address the capacity and staffing issues," said McLeod. "These were coping strategies, not long term strategies." A nd though the provincial funds will go a long way towards easing the situa tion, the effects w on't likely be felt until next year. "The spike at Christmas time and the New Year is traditional, but everyone seems to be surprised when it happens," said McLeod. Trafalgar-Hwy. 403 exit closes March 1st The Hwy. 403 exit to Trafalgar Road will be closed effective Wednesday, March 1st to accommodate work on the 407 ETR Extension. The closure is required to complete con struction of the 407's full six-lane cross section and the basketweave structure between the 407 alignment and the Hwy. 403 to 407 ramp. Advanced notification signage will be pro vided on Hwy. 403 and the local road system to ensure safety during the construction period The extension runs from the Hwy. 403 Freeman Interchange in Hamilton to the Hwy. 403/407 ETR Interchange in Oakville. The closure is expected to last until the end of the year. The Hwy. 407 west extension is scheduled for completion in July 2001. R E G IO N O F H A L T O N PU B L IC N O T IC E IN T E R S E C T IO N IM P R O V E M E N T S A T DUNDAS S T R E E T (R E G IO N A L R O A D No. 5) AND B R O N T E R O A D (R E G IO N A L R O A D No. 25) T O W N O F O A K V IL L E PR -1800 N o tice is h ereb y g iven p u rs u a n t to S e c tio n s 297 and 3 0 0 o f th e M unicipal A ct. R. S. O 1990, ch a p te r M 45 as a m en d ed , that the C o u n cil fo r the R egional M u n ic ip a lity o f H alto n p ro p o ses at its m e etin g o n W e d n esd a y M arch 2 9 . 2 0 0 0 al 9 :3 0 a.m . to p ass a by-law to r the in tersectio n im p ro v e m e n ts at D u n d a s S treet and B ro n te R oad in the fo rm o f lan e e x te n sio n s fo r th e so u th b o u n d th ro u g h /rig h ttu rn an d left tu rn lanes o n B ro n te R o ad a p p ro a c h in g D undas S tree t an d th e e x te n sio n o f th e e x istin g so u th b o u n d m erg e lane and taper on B ronte R oad, so u th o f D u n d as S tre e t, T o w n o f O ak v ille. P lan s sh o w in g th e p ro p o se d w o rk m ay b e in sp ec ted at th e P lan n in g & P u b lic W o rk s D ep artm en t. H alto n R eg io n al C en tre. 1151 B ro n te R oad, O ak v ille, O n tario . ^ A cu p u n ctu re Lynne C. Ganong, B.Math, DAc. ARE YOU IN PAIN? Lyme C . Ganong Crescent Nursery School R E G IS T R A T IO NA R EN O W B E IN GA C C E P T E DF O RT H E Y E A R2 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 AGES 18 months - 5 years to Pre-school - junior Kinder Garden 404 Morrison Road, Oakville, Ont. L6j 4J9 Phone: (905) 844-3432 Fax: (905) 842-8328 DO YOU SUFFER FROM HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT WON'T GO AWAY? Come to a FREE A cupuncture Clinic on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2000 Receive a FREE Acupuncture Treatment. O n W ed n esd ay. M arch 2 2 . 2 0 0 0 at 9 :3 0 a.m in th e H alton R oom at th e H alton R eg io n al C en tre. 1151. B ro n te R o ad . O ak v ille. O n tario , C o u n cil, th ro u g h its P la n n in g an d P u b lic W orks C o m m ittee w ill h e a r in p erso n o r by h is /h e r C o u n s e l, a n y p erso n w ho claim s th at h is/h e r lands w ill b e p re ju d ic ia lly affec ted by th e said b y -la w an d w h o ap p lies to the R eg io n al C le rk n o la ter than T u esd ay . M arch 8, 20 0 0 , to b e heard. F o r f u r t h e r in f o r m a tio n , p le a s e c o n t a c t : Quit sm o k in g 2000 C O N TEST Watch Friday's Paper for your Registration Form or call Halton Region Health Department: Learn about Acupuncture and how it can help YOU. Call today to reserve an appointment H EIN EN NATUROPATHIC & W ELLNESS CEN TRE Mr. J. Choi, P. Eng., Manager, Design Services Phone: (905) 825-6030, extension 7610 JOAN EA G LESH A M REG ION A L CLERK w w w .region.halton.on.ca 461 North Service Rd. W. #B27 (between Dorval & 4th Line) (905) 825-6179 TTY (905) 827-9833 (9 0 5 ) 4 6 5 -0 1 9 1 www.naturopalhic.ca BR O N TE R O fiDflN IM fiL H O SP IT A L 2544 Speers Road at Bronte Oakville, Ontario REGION OF HALTON NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING HALTO N'S DRAFT AQUIFER M ANAGEM ENT PLAN If you live in M ilto n , H alton H ills or the north parts o f O akville and B u rlin g to n y o u r d rin k in g water com es from u n d erground aquifers. G roundw ater also provides our stream s w ith m uch o f th e ir baseflow . H alton R egion, in co -o p eratio n with other governm ent agencies has d ev elo p ed an A q u ife r M an ag em en t Plan to pro v id e for the long term m anagem ent and protection o t the R e g io n 's g ro u n d w a te r resource. Halton R egional C o u n cil is presen tly seeking com m ents on the R e g io n 's p ro p o sed D ra ft A q u ifer M anagem ent Plan. ^ (905) 825-2100 Dr. Michael Zigler is pleased to announce that Dr. Dieter Kohlmaier hasjoined. Dr. Christine Hilton, Dr. Lisa Peters and himselfon the veterinary team. D r Kohlmaier is a 1994graduate o f the Ontario Veterinary College and has practicedfor a number o f years in the Stratford and Oakville areas. H o u rs : M on d ay thru Friday: 8 a.m . - 7 p.m . Saturday: 8 a.m . - 2 p.m . A fter H ou rs Em ergencies: (9 0 5 ) 2 7 3 -9 3 3 5 h ttp ://w w w .b ron tevet.com / Public m eetings on H alton 's proposed groundw ater strategy will be h eld as follow s: Where: F e b r u a r y 16 - G E O R G E T O W N - T ow n o f H alton H ills C o u n c il C h a m b e rs (M aple A venue) - 7 :00 to 9 :00 PM ( P re s e n ta tio n a t 7 :3 0 PM ). F e b r u a r y 17 - M IL T O N - H ugh Foster H all (ad jacen t T o w n H all) - 7 :0 0 to 9 :0 0 PM ( P r e s e n ta tio n a t 7 :3 0 P M ). For m ore inform ation contact: S tev e H o ly sh a t 9 0 5 -825-6161. F ro m A cto n (519) 853-0501 x 7134. F ro m G e o rg e to w n (905) 8 7 8 -8113 x 7134. w w w .reg io n .lialto n .o n .ca