PAGE 2; Wl-IIT13Y PREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 1988 Whitby firmwill"distribute physiotherapy device A Whitby company bas been chosen- to exclusively distribute throughout North and South America a West German com- pany's device used for the treat- ment of physiotherapy patients. Physio Designs Inc. recently made the announcement at a press conference at Mayor Bob Atter- sley's office. "It is a very simple device that, using pulsating electromagnietic fields, permeates into every single celi, causing increased oxygen out- take, increasing the funetion of the celi," explained Sohan Koonar. a physiotherapy consultant to Physio Designs Imc. Un ST The device, called a Pulsating Magnetie Field (PMF) Therapy, is built by Alpha Electronies of Ham- burg, West Germany. The deal also involves Alpha Electronies, which transfers the technology of the PMF to Physio Designs. Physio Designs hopes to manufacture the device in Whitby by the end of 1988. The device cari be -used for the treatment of patients with injuries ranglng from bad backs to twisted ankles as well as sprots-related in-. juries. And because the electromagnetic field is non-thermal, Koonar says patients cari be treated while wearing a cast or if they have diabetes, impaired circulation or skin diseases. But he notes the treatment is not used on women who are pregnant or on anyone with a pacemaker. The PMF wiIl be marketed for use in nursing homes, hospitals, sports teams as well a chiroprac- tors. The technology has been avallable in West Germany for the past 20 years, anld while it is also available in Canada, he says Canadian units that are based. on the same theory are flot as ver- satile. A portable unit will eost $7,000, JOHN BROU WER GARDEN CENTRE Ulm@ "»%,re Taa&e a break- ________________________ f rom the cold. ,~ G Vist our nowI ~ If TM LUgreenhouse FREE~I~~I*I~ and see Our y ON OUR NEW LARGE POND!lag ecto Our deer and birds weicome their new f riends- a big cuddiy iHama & two miniature donkeys! One elght month oid donkey named George and a three year oid female. ilrJOHN BROUWER~ (iarden Centre & adcpg ~686l545 . This yearwe want ourJanuaiy Sale b~ reilit home This year, we couldn't decide what j [1 to feature in our January sale. So *-r? wermade it easy. _-w Absolutely everythiùng in every one of our locations is on sale during the month of January. We've started with savings up to 40% on floor models, and continued on with marked-down prices on entertainmlent units, bedroom furniture, dining room suites, chairs, upholstery, and while a permanent one for use in hospital or chiropractors will cost Koonar--says a PMF' will not be sold to anyone unless they have a medical prescription. Canadian Tire Corporation bas filed an appeal with the Ontario Municipal Board. over council's decision last October to deny a gas bar and lubritorium at the corner of Dundas St. E. and Bowman Ave. Council unamimously turned Th nts 'Ill be arriving in Canada for distributionl starting in January but it will take one to two years to receive FTA approval for PMF's distribution into the United States. OPA members dlaim unf air treatment by government Members of the Ontario Physio- therapy Association, including those in Durham Region, are outraged at what they describe as unfair treatment, by the- Ontario government. They say that in the spring of 1986 the goverriment promised equity from OHIP when billing for physiotherapy treatments. At the time, physician-owned clinics were able to buH a minimum of $10 per treatment while physiotherapists were getting just $885. The government agreed to the fée increase and granted the physiotherapists a $1.55 billing in- crease, raising the minimum charge fee to $10.40. riment has approved two increases for physician-owned or 1 G-code' clinics,, raising their minimum charge fee to $11.50. But the physiotherapists' fee bas remained at $10.40. "It's ludicrous that registered physiothçrapists should receive so much less than that paid to a physician-owned G-code clinics, af- ter we were promised equitable' treatment in the legislature by the Minister of Health," says OPA president Trishan Kelso. "As the health specialists in ,musculo-skeletal care, we/deserve at least as much paid to G-code clinics, " says Kelso. The minimum amount OHIP pays to a G-code cinic.for a visit where the patient receives a "physical medicine procedure" is $11.50. The OPA also points out that in some G-code dllnics the physiciail does not provide the treatment but rather, in some cases, un- derquallfied personnel perform the treatment. The OPA isays that ini a physiotherapist's office, onl1y licen- sed physiotheraplsts provide treatments. This past November negotiations between the OPA and 011 IP broke off after the OPA refused to accept a two per cent parity increase. A government offer of a two per cent fée increase 15 "completely unfair and nowhere near parity," says Carolyn Erwin, secretar of the Durham district of the OPA. ,,The two per cent offer to us is simply ludicrous,"' says Kelso., With the increase physiotherapists would be able to make a minimum charge of $10-60 which is still 90 cents* below that paid to G-code clinics, a margin of 8.5 per cent. "IOHIP cannot have be en serious with a two per cent offer. The rate of inflation in Canada is 4.5 per cent and in Toronto it's 5.9 per cent," says Kelso. "Furthermore, from April 1 last year '(1986) to April 1 this year (1987), the G-code clinics have had increases that gave them a boost of nearly 7.5 per cent. Members all across.the province, inclucling 75 members from the Durham district (some from two G- code clinics in Whitby), want the Liberal goverriment to "live up to its promise of fairness" made in the spring of 1986. down the application at a meeting held on Tuesday, Oct. 13 noting the gas bar would cause further traffic congestion in the *area. No date has been set for the hearing. shelving systems. Itfs Woodcraft's January Sale - the ultimate antidote for empty corners, open spaces, blank walis, and blank stares. Drop in today, and find out how Woodcraft's January Sale can really bit home. LI.. '-4 - -~LIp' r:~ ~1Lii. M '-*-' .-~--. ~Ak0~ V 0MB hearing over gas bar