Page 16, Whltby FmeePoas. Wednesday. Februavy i1. 1995 [Citizens' group makes plea to rea*sp -----:--.- By Miko Kowall Local health officiais have been asked not to "tura their backs» on Whitb7y residents' fight to save the towns hospital. A plea ta retain Whitby General Hospital as an'acute car. treatment facility was deli- vered at last week's meeting of the Durhamn Region District HIealth Council. JoAnne Prout and Dirk Langerak, ca-chairs of the Save Our General Hospital <SOGH) citizens'- committee, presented council with a 31000-naine peti- tion opposing a proposai to radi- callyre6vamhp the hospitars rol.. Thfe council will soon decide whether it supports a recomimen- dation te convort the 26-year-old hespital inte a rehabilitation treatinent centre serving aIl of Durham PRTgon. The Inal repart of a h.alth cotuncil sub-oemmittee on the proposai will b. deait with at the council's Feb. 22 mneetig. Telling the council that they' hopedt "ut a face te the decîsIons_ ou ýwiii have ta malce,» 1'rout cailed on the provincially- appinted body ta heed the petî- tesmessage. "W. are confident that you wil net turn your backs te the 31.,000 people who signed thie pç-titxon,» «They are, after ail, what Blge WhaIe.. eClassie Elite Silk. Cotton, Wool *Colinette Hand-dyed Textured Yarns e Valuruguai Woole Lopi, and more Open: Wed to Suni. J Jan 'i - 4pin 3330 Simcoe St. N. Columbus (905) 655-8406 DURHAM'S TOP FIMANCIAL PLANNERS... T~~Ilnvestment Planning Centre Any money that you manage to save for reti rernent is hard-earned capital. The money in your RRSP is flot money you want to risk. And because building capital is a life-lo.i& . :tivity, you want a method orf RRSP investing that is easy for you to manage. For many individuals, mutual funds are the ideal RRSP solution'. They offer the benefits of professional management, investrnent selection, diversification and ease of administration. For your complimentary appointment to review your current financial situation, contact Whitby's top financial planners ait TPA Investment Planning Centre 223 Brock St. N., Suite 200, Whitby e 666-0896 1presionZ. presents 40-50Z. Ã"FF HARD WINDOW COVERINGS Plus Value ý-Vs' Pleated Shades 50 %OFF Bahi, Medallion, & Micro mini blinds plus Vertic., 40% OFF Piissol Pleated, Duette Honey Comb & Roller ý%e Shades plus Wood Venetian Blinds CâI for your no obligation consultation 666m'376'2 Your-Comipleteý'Witndow Coveiing Specialisi ,aIs I t health care is ail about,ý" she said. Prout's and Langerak's appearance before the council was ta reiterate their group'a position on the future of Whitb General Hospital. While SOGH's opposition te a rehabilitation centre has not wavered since it submitted a brief in'respanse ta a 'discussion paper? released by the council's steering committe., the "ircurn- stances 'have changed,» Prout said. «'Although the body cf aur res- pane has not changed, the num- brs of ipeople whose opinion iis represented in that response has changed signifficantiy.,» she said. Whitby residents h ve demon- strated their ustrang opposition» ta the discussion* paper's pro- posaIs ini several ways, Prout said. She referred te the nuxnber of service clubs, organiainad businesses, as well as Town council, which criticized the £naddition, there are -the 31,000 people «stating clearly their desire ta maintain Whitby General Hospital as an acute car. facility whichincludes 24- hour emergency service," Prout said. ThIIe petition was also presen- tain teOntaria legislature, I1ast November b local MPPs Drummond White and Gord Mills.) Noting that the steering corn- mittee had over a year ta draft its proposaIs, Prout said.the pub- lic had only a few monthsa-ta respond aÃWr the disc u9sion pagper was released in M4,f Ini spite of that, more than 100 responses camne fromn a con- cerned community,» she said. unhe public outcry* is somie- thing the like of which Durham Regi'on had net seen before.» Bsasd on a consu'tant's stuýdy, which dlaims it is too expensive ta rnaintain the status que, the discussion paper examined the future af acute care health ser- vices in Durham. One way ta make more effi- cient use of the health care dollar is a restructuring of local services, such as converting Whitby General into a rehabili- tation centre, the study suggests. Patients recevering from seri- eus iliness, surgey or traumna weuid b. treatecf in the proposed centre, the study says. Services associated with a gral hositlwuld na longer bofred in Whtby. Residents in néed of emer- gency services or surgery would travel ta expanded, hospitals in Oshawa or Ajax, the stu-dy pro- poses. Hawever, in its brief,. SOGH faund fault with severai of the' discussion patper's conclusions,, Langerak sald. Thèse include the foliowing: * the «misapplication of statis- tics» nespecially when applied to the present use of Witby General Hospital; * a lack of cost-effectiveness comparatiave data; * a lack of documentation te support the. conclusion that uequity auality of care. and accessibi lij-y services» for- health care consumers in Whitby would not b. seriously eroded by Whitby General's "closure»; * a lack of ecanamic analysis and, justification te suj>part Whitby General's «closure and iack of recognition of the reality that the -cuirent utilization of Whitby Generai is a direct ref lec- tion of the chronic underfunding, of the hospital»by the province. "'Our message is- clear," Langerak declared. "Whitby resi- dents must net b. disenfranch- ised i their ability. te accesa excellent, equitable -health care services.» Council member and Whitb) resident .N atalie bubela ,cnai- lengied SOGH's dlaim of «mis- aplicatio of statistioe» and use othe terni "closiure» te describe the proposed role change. Prout said -SOGH used infor- mation supplied by the Town of WMiby trefute the figures cited n te dsussion paper. "One of the statistics- that we toek issue with was the under- usag e of Whitby Generai,» s3he said., "From eur research we dis- covered ne correlation between the numbers.» As for terming the rehabili- tatien centre proposal a "cia- sure,» Prout said it depends on one's «definition» of the word. "Whether iM'sciosing the build- ing or reverting ta a different functonitmeans the saine,» she said. "To us, converting te, a dif- ferent functien means cia- sure ... no emergency, ne acute care.»" To which Bubela repiied, "My' idea of closure is an actual boarding-up of the windows. «I went to' some p laces in Whitby where. your petition was and people saïi we were closing .Langerak promptly retorted that manylpeople were led to that conclusion because of the way the entire issue has been handled. "If there is one thing that has frustrated us fromn the start, it has been the, unwillingness of any group or person .ta ulti- matelY tae ownersh*p of the fate of Whitby General Hospital," he said. «When youre operating i an atmosphere of rumours, Who do you talk ta?» Prout added. "The Miniistry of Health doesn't want* W talk until vou decide, the saine with the MPPis. Who will take responsibility for Council chair Gerry Blake, aIse of Whitby, stressed that the 16-member prou p can only make its views known to the mi#nistry. Ultimately, the government mrust decide. the hospfital' fate, Blake said. «W. are a local planning boqdy to offer advice on- local plang needs for Durham R6egion,' he said. Following the. meeting, Blake said that while council h as not «yet» received thesteering. comn- mittee's report, it, will be dealt with on Feb. 22., In a subsequent. interview, Prout was pleased with the out- came of the meeting «W. were glad ta b. able to talk ta them and have Gerry Blake sum up and say they will make a recommendation te the 1ministry based on the acute car. committeel's report,» she said. "They are takino some respon- sibility for the decision.» Meanwhile, in a related mat- ter, Whitby council members have been invited ta an sOGH meeting on Feb. 9, Prout said. «W. want as much of a united 1 front as -possible, there's more potential for success,» she said. "W. asked for a meeting after the -(municipal)'election because we wanted ta se. what Icouncil has in the works for protecting Whitby General Hospital.» <Ail candidates, whether successful or not, promnised te fight for the hospital, Prout ThIe meeting is open te the public and wil I b. held in one of the* boardrooms. at the Whitby municipal building. Whitby Free Press Annual . .VAL.. .ENTINE . Petry Contest VaenineButby n.L 51o*rpitofa h nre s mutbW ecleht h tby Free Press befiore 21nookS.N, Wed. b .895 Th.......I e otfldb..t.eh.e Entrant agreethat thir poes may b publlhed byteWib rePe .1~