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6- Orono Wcekiy Times, Wednesday, March 25, 1998 Hospital struggles to balance its 1 may have a little more' about birds this week than last week but it Is not a case that I was out looklng for them. A lot of Uic viewlng came through the front window where wc have full view of a homemade feeder, a Niger seed feeder and a supply of suet. It is not that I had spent hours at Uic wlndow but Uic birds have been growing in numbers and in species. The black Sunflower feeder has 'been attracting the Chickadecs, the two species of Nuthatch along with the ground feeders. Mourning Doves, Redpolcs and Junicos. A Hairy an-d Downy Woodpecker do make use of Uic suet holder. The American Gold Flnch certainly have a preference for Uic Niger feeder as have Uic House Finch. It does appear Uiat Uiere is an increase in Uic number of House Flnch so far this year both in maies and females. The species was close to being depleted through disease. The specie does have the ability to qulckly again multiple profusely as it dîd five and six years ago. It was a time when putting out a hanging fiower basket under Uic eve was a sure fire means of attracting nesting House Finch. They are cheerful summer singers, whose singing has been absent over Uic past few years. A new visitor to Uic Niger feeder in Uie past week has been the Pine Siskin. Not in great numbers but one or two at a time. Perhaps a littlc smaller Uian the Finches but wiUi a sharp pointed beak, yellow wing bars and a flush of yellow on the edge of the tail. This bird can be a rare to common visitor during Uic wlnter generally leaving in the first part of April. It nests north of us, in loase colonies, in the coniferous forests. It is a bird I often look for at this time of year at the feeder due to the fact that years ago I spent considerable time in trying to identilfr it. The yellow is not always obvious. The blanket of snow over the week-end brought me some joy as, first, I do enjoy winter with snow, sccondly, it was one more opportunity to take the skis to the Ganaraska and thlrdly it put me in close contact with Horned Larks. It all happencd Monday aftemoon between Orono and the Forest Centre. Travelling out of Orono we drove through a hcavy snow fall until tumning north on Jewel Road off Uic Sixth LUne road. It was clear as a bell, as Uic saying goes. and Uic sun was now shining. Drlving north on Jewcvl Road we passed by a smnall flock of birds whlch flew up from the side of the road. There was littIe doubt but that Uiey were Horned Larks for we have scen thcmi before in this particular area. The snow cover over the past couple of days has covered Uic large open fields which are feeding areas for Larks at hils time of year. It forces Uiem out to Uic edge of Uic road where Uic snow has melted and weed seeds are available. Parking we did spend some time obscrving that Uicy wcre Horned Larks. The same condition exists north on the Forest Centre Road where again, on the trip, we witnessed a sizeable flock of Horned Larks feeding alongside Uie road. I Uink I have seen more Homned Larks Uis year Uian ever before. Turning onto Road 9 to travel east to Uie top of Uic Oshawa Ski Hill wc were treated to a spectacular winter sceniery. The entire row of maples on Uhc south side of the road, covercd wi a layer of Ice, sparkled and glistened In the sun. Truly it was a fairy land and hard to believe. This, in ltsclf, was by far more than enough for Uic trip. Finally I did arrive at Uie Forest Centre and did get out gn the short ski trail. Not as fast as I used to be but here again we enjoyed Uic blanket of white spread over the pines and spruce and on Uic ground. A winter wonderland indeed. The Monday outing is one I arn glad I made. Without growth funding from the Ministry of Health to recognize its increasing population, Mcmoria'l Hospital Bowmanville faces difficiIt choices regarding services to its cofnmunity as the Hospital prepares its annual operating plan. The plan must be submit- ted to the Minlstry by April l7th. Un operating plan out- Unes what prograxns and ser- vices a hospital wlîll provide for the upcoming year wlthln. the restrictions of Ministry of Health allocations for operat- lng funds. Operating funds are basically what a hos-pital needs to manage on a day-to- day basis. "Our muiniclpallty has one of Uic 'astest growing popu- lations in Canada, but the Ministry of Hcalth to date is not recognlzing our continu- ing growth and increasing demands on hcalth care ser- vices. The budget allocation being frozen at last year's level, on a percentage basis from the Ministry, is actually about a 6.5 per cent decrease in funding. The decrease is mainly a result of market increases for drug, supply and service prices, increased volumes, increased costs of benefits, and staff compensa- tion for movement along wage grids," explains Tom Schonberg, Hospital Ptesident. The Hospital may tem- porarlly have to restrict access to some of its services. However, any decisions about which progranis and/or ser- vices may bc affected wlll not be made until thc Hospital receives confirmation from Uic Ministry that there won't bc additional growth funding budget allocated. "We certainly deserve to reccive growth funding," says Mr. Schonberg, "based on our track record as one of the top 10 performlng hospitals in the province, both in terms of managing utilization of ser- vices, and cost of services. We have pushed the organization and staff to the limnits in absorbing increased work- loads. Whilc we support the Ministry of Health's expan- sion of home-based services and long-term care, a growlnùg number of people do and whl continue to require hospital- based acute care services. We necd to be prepared in the unifortuniate eventu.ality that we do not recelve growth funding." He explains Memorial Hospital, like others in the Greater Toronto Area of Durham, Halton, York and Peel, already receive less of the healthcare fundlng pie than counterparts in Toronto. Each person In the four regions receives almost $200 less on a per person basis when compared to Ontario as a whole. In a comparison of healthcare spcnding in Toronto, GTA/905 residents receive' almost $0 less per person. Last year, the Hospital recelved approxlmnately $500,000 in one-time growth funding to recognize its grow- ing population and the nèed to continue to provide high quality and efficient health care services to increasing numbers of people in the communlty. The Ministry has not, to date, made a commnit- ment for this ycar's recogni- tion of growth. "Growth funding is not a one-time fr111, it's a neccssity," says Mr. Schonbcrg. "The new residents that arrived here last year are not leaving, and more residents are mov- ing here this year. This weili continue into the foresceable future. Without the recogni- tioni by the Ministry for ongo- ing population growth, we will have increasingly fewer dol- lars to spend on health care services for more people." He suggests that people who are concemned about this issue should cali their local MPPs office to express their views. Board members needed for Aids committee The AIDS Committee of Durhami is a non-profit, comn- munity based, volunteer driv- en, charitable organization providing HIV/AIDS relatcd services to Uic infectcd, affect- cd and the general communi- tW in Uie Region of Durham. The Board of Directors meets monthly, and Uiere is additional pIonthly commit- tee work e.g. fundralsing and advocacy. Directors are elect- cd annually to a maximum term of 3 years. If you are interested or know someone who might be, please oeil 905-665-0051 to receive an application formn. The deadllne for receipt of applications is May 1, 1998. IT PAYS r TO IADVERTISE DUHM REGION For the beffer DURHAM REGION 0k, What is Changing? Durham Region Finance Department wilI soon irtroduce TeleRead, a new, more convenient way for you to provide your water meter reading. What is TeleRead? Instead of mailing in your meter reading as you do now, soon you wilI be able to enter it using your telephone, anytimne - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Why the Change? 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