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"Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" scene. St It is believed that the fire started | although no official cause has been det of yet, say police. ~~ No damage report was available. I wish to thank all my friends and family who helped me celebrate my 90th birth- day on May 13. It was wonderful to see $0 many people who shared in the "love and laughter" over the years. All the beautiful cards have brightened up my room. Special thanks to my U.C.W. EN Sarah-Ruth unit for the low-cal goodies: BY the Villa staff - especially Barb, Michelle and Chris and my family for organizing the come and go tea. It was a great day! Doris Williams Gertrude Wanamaker would like to invite you to share in the celebration of our Mother' 90th Birthday Saturday, June 10th 2-4 pm. Seagrave United Church BEST WISHES ONLY | 800 O-Canada Be 1010 M 6 WAAL § V/ 5 2 Health care forum examines the problems with medicare system There's a serious decline in the confidence of the public By Chris Hall Port Perry Star The future of Canada's health care was examined last week during a forum hosted by Durham MP Alex Shepherd. Held at the Garnet B. Rickard complex in Bowmanville Wednesday (May 31), the forum attracted about 30 peo- ple, who listened to a panel discussion. Panelists included Dr. Robert Davies, Chair of Medical Staff, Lakeridge Health Corporation; Dr. Martin Barkin, chairman of the board at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Womens' College Hospital; Durham Access to Care CEO Janet Harris; and Dr. Charlene Lockner, family and general medicine physician. "This will be a health care forum; there will be no blaming or finger-pointing at the different levels of gov- ernment," said Mr. Shepherd in his opening address to the crowd. "People believe there are problems with the health care system in this country, whether they be perceived or real. Our medicare'system defines us as Canadians... but (nation-wide) health care has been with us for more than 30 years now, and it's probably time for a tune-up or a change. Perhaps... it's time to look at the health care Sys- tem and reinvent our medicare system." The MP said $86 billion is spent on health annually in this country, ranking the country as one of the biggest presented by The Port Perry Star $75 SHOPPING SPREE to the Markham Country Decorating & Collectibles Show ° June 10 & 11 ¢ ONE OF 15 PAIRS OF GUEST PASSES to the Markham Country Decorating & Collectibles show. Free to the first 15 customers at the Port Perry Star! Markham, Ont. Mail or drop off at The Port Perry Star COUNTRY and Coloctbies Show une 108 11 ' DECORATING $75 Shopping Spree Draw ! COLLECTIBLES } | Name Ce te ee eee eee SHOW & SA Ep! iia. ! TREAS p 1Address ............. ; LASURE ft, ARTS 6 CRAFTS Fy : LTT y 'McCowan Rd., iPhone .............. |] |] 168 Mary SL, Port Pory LoL 187 4 Sat. & Sun. 10-5 You want to know more about: * Finding a job? * Connecting Canadians? * Safe boating? The Government of Canada is making it easy for you to reach us. One-stop access for information on more than 1,000 services is available at your fingertips. Don't hesitate to contact us at: Www.canada.qc.ca * Starting a business? * Children's services? * Health and quality care? spenders on health care in the world. But spending, on average, increases by about twice as fast as the economy. "We can't continue this upward spiral of health care costs at this rate," said Mr. Shepherd. "It's not economi- cally sustainable; something has to be done." The problem is mot funding, but how the money. is spent, said Dr. Barkin. "Where the patient meets the health care system, that's where we run into trouble. Patients are not getting what they are supposed to be getting. There is a serious disconnect in the system when it comes to what they're getting," said Dr. Barkin, a Beaverton resident. "There's a lot of money going in at the top, but we're not getting what we need at the bottom. There's a very serious decline in the public's confidence of the health care system... there's something very wrong when we can't get to the health care we need in the time we need it." Better organization of the health care system, from funding to treatment, is needed, said Dr. Barkin. "It's not the amount of money coming through at the top that's the problem, it's how we organize and deliver the services at the bottom that's the problem. If we don't organize the system from beginning to end then we're doomed to throw more money away into the system and someday we'll wake up and wonder why we don't have the services we want." New health care technology was also a topic at the forum. "Thanks to technology we have higher quality care in terms of outcomes and a better knowledge base," said Dr. Davies. "We are capable of doing more, however there is a bigger strain on the system because of that." Technology may be helping to save more lives, but it also comes with a much higher price tag, Dr. Davies reminded the audience. "We have a wish list of $120 million, and no way to pay for it. Technology drives the increase in quality of care. "There's no doubt we have better care now than 10, 15, or 20 years ago. No physician around would want to go back to the good ole' days." The importance of home care was also approached by Mrs. Harris, who noted that Durham Access to Care han- dles nursing, homemaking, rehabilitation and supplies for approximately 6,000 client each month in Durham. "More and more people are aging, and we need to find the funding, beds, and supplies for this unique chal- lenge," she said. Durham Region also faces a critical shortage of physi- cians, noted Dr. Lockner, estimating that the local area is short about 70 doctors. "The ones that are here, they're overwhelmed with work," she said. Other leading factors in the shortage of physicians here included the distribution of doctor's offices and the difficulty in finding a doctor who's accepting new patients; the fact that it takes more work now to take care of patients; the increasing age -- and pending retirement -- of numerous physicians; and the fact that most doctors want to have a personal life, and therefore restrict their time at the office.