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4 - Orono Weekly Times Wednesday, May 27, 2009 ER Continued from front page fully functioning, and issued a press release. "We thought we were negotiating on this issue," Stone said. "We laid out our proposals, and Lakeridge took elements of that proposal, and rather than come back and discuss it, they publish their press release without costing out our proposals." Dr. Stone came to Clarington council in January asking for support in the doctor's fight to save services at their hospital. He claimed that Bowmanville Hospital was in jeopardy of being downgraded to a rural type hospital looked after by family physicians. Without an adequate staffing compliment at the hospital, acute care patients will have to be transported to Oshawa General Hospital, Stone told councillors in January. Bowmanville hospital has recently lost one of its four internists, with two more set to leave at the end of June. Internists provide the specialty services necessary to keep a full service emergency department operating. Ideally the hospital would have four internists on staff. Lakeridge Health maintains that the volume of patients at Bowmanville hospital is insufficient to support incomes for four specialists. In March, Stone came back to Council and said the doctors had a very good meeting with Empey, and had developed a good understanding of what their position is financially and clinically, and what their needs are. A model was Advertise with ORONO WEEKLY TIMES 905-983-5301 oronotimes@rogers.com being developed to create a sustainable system for the ER and intensive care unit at Lakeridge Health Bowmanville, he reported. "There is nothing firmly in place, but we feel very positive," Stone said. On Monday, Stone told the Times "Negotiations ceased from the time we met with Empey just before March Break." "Our internal medicine issue is going to come to a boiling point on July 1st," he added on Monday. Responsibility for recruiting internists lies with Lakeridge Health, the corporation formed 10 years ago through the amalgamation of Durham Region hospitals (excluding Ajax/Pickering hospital). According to Stone, over the past year while the Bowmanville doctors have been asking Lakeridge Health for internists, Lakeridge Health has successfully recruited three internists for Oshawa hospital and none for Bowmanville. The press release issued by Lakeridge Health on the 20th was "very disheartening," Mayor Abernethy said at Monday's committee meeting. "We are the fastest growing community in the GTA, and Lakeridge Health is reducing our health care services to be on par with those provided to a village in Antarctica or a village on the Hudson Bay," he stated. The doctors have not given up yet. According to Stone, they are going to try and figure out what they can do to preserve services at the Bowmanville hospital for the community, but they need the community's help. Stone says the community needs to get very excited about this issue and make it an issue with every level of government local, provincial, federal - as well as with Lakeridge Health Corporation and the Local Health Integration Network, the agency created by the provincial government which controls funding for the province's hospitals. "We need to reach as many people we can," Stone stated. Hayley Dennis (l), Alison Osborne (m), and Stephanie Andrews (r), held a Bake/Yard sale on Saturday, May 16 to raise money for Free The Children. They raised $366.00, which is double what they raised last year. The three girls want to help children in developing countries to have schools, food and clean drinking water. Bethesda House 905-623-6050 or 1-800-338-3397 (For women with or without children.) Are you in an abusive relationship? Call