THE
Vol. 118 – No. 25
TEMISKAMING
SPEAKER
www.northernontario.ca
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2023
Paiement brothers to be honoured with Earlton arena renaming (B Front).
$1.75 per single copy (H.S.T. included)
Body of missing canoeist recovered TEMAGAMI (Staff ) – The body of a canoeist has been recovered three days after the 24-year-old was reported missing in the Temagami area. Temiskaming OPP report that the resident of Brockton was found deceased August 14 by the OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU). Police say the individual, whose identity has not been released, was reported missing around 10 p.m. August 11 on Wasaksina Lake southwest of Temagami. Police say a canoe with two persons aboard capsized. One made it to shore safely but a second occupant was unaccounted for. Police say an initial search was launched with the help of a Griffon helicopter from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre at Canadian Forces Base Trenton. Members of the OPP Emergency Response Team, Canine Unit and USRU were also deployed. The search was assisted by an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry helicopter.
LAWLOR GARAGE FIRE A garage fire at 370 Lawlor Street in Haileybury was quickly extinguished when members of the Temiskaming Shores Fire Department Haileybury brigade arrived on the scene in the early afternoon of Saturday, August 12. They received the call for the fire at 1:30 p.m. There was no one injured in the blaze and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined noted Temiskaming Shores Fire Department training officer Jocelyn Plante in a telephone interview. He said the rain that fell on Saturday helped to minimize the fire. (Staff photo by Sue Nielsen)
Whooping cough outbreak declared
Diane Johnston
Speaker Reporter
TEMISKAMING SHORES – The Timiskaming Health Unit has declared a whooping cough outbreak in the central part of the district. Investigation continues, but to date the health unit is aware of about five confirmed cases and a number of probable cases, said Dr. Glenn Corneil, the district’s acting medical officer of health. He said the individuals range from young children to adults, but no seniors have been affected. One person has been hospitalized. In a news release, the health unit said its staff are in the process of notifying people who have been exposed to the infectious respiratory illness. “Whooping cough germs spread
Diane Johnston
easily from person to person,” said Corneil in a statement. “Children under the age of one are at the most risk for severe infection. Immunization provides the best protection against whooping cough.” The health unit said whooping cough, known as pertussis, differs from the common cold, bronchitis and croup by the severity and duration of the cough. While the illness starts like the common cold – with sneezing, runny nose, low grade fever and a mild cough – the cough gets worse over two weeks. Coughing spells develop and may end in a whooping sound. The cough may be so severe that the person gags or vomits. Older children and adults may have a prolonged cough without the “whoop” sound or vomiting.
In light of the increasing incidence of pertussis, the health unit reminds the public to stay home if they’re sick. VACCINATION Vaccination against whooping cough is part of the routine immunization for infants, children and teenagers. It’s typically given at two, four, six and 18 months of age. Immunity decreases over time, so a booster dose is recommended for adults. People of all ages are encouraged to contact the health unit to make an appointment if they’re due or overdue for vaccination. Individuals who have received vaccinations at the health unit or who report their shots to the health unit through licensed childcare or schools can review their immunization records online at http://timiskaminghu.com/281/immunization.
Anyone who is pregnant or immunocompromised should follow up with their health care provider to confirm their vaccination history. The health unit said a booster of the pertussis vaccine is recommended in the third trimester of pregnancy. It notes that hand washing is the single most effective way of preventing the transmission of infections. Using a tissue and coughing or sneezing into one’s arm rather than hand are also recommended. Anyone who develops whooping cough symptoms over the next three weeks is advised to contact their health provider and notify the health unit. This is not the first whooping cough outbreak in Temiskaming in recent years. In late 2019 and early 2020, the district reported 41 cases.
Public offers direction to BRH
Speaker Reporter
ENGLEHART – A new nursing home, doctors’ access to the hospital, and communications were on people’s minds when Blanche River Health invited feedback. Blanche River Health (BRH), which operates hospital sites in Englehart and Kirkland Lake, is seeking feedback as it drafts a strategic plan for the next five years. About two dozen people turned out August 3 in Englehart to offer input. BRH wants to know what it’s doing well and what can be improved, what it should be prioritizing, and any opportunities it should pursue, CEO Jorge VanSlyke told the audience.
One concern raised was the inability of family health team doctors to follow their patients during their care at the hospital. BRH uses in-house doctors known as hospitalists to care for in-patients and cover the emergency department. How provincial funding is delivered to hospitals and to family health care teams differs, and each organization has a contract with its own doctors, VanSlyke said. Integrating services would require a decision by both organizations, she said. She said the hospital is willing to work with any doctor who would like to work with it. She said she also heard the message that BRH should try to improve the relationship with doctors to enable them
JORGE VANSLYKE to work in the hospital. People at the meeting asked for an update on a new nursing home. In the fall of 2019, a proposal was outlined for a privately operated nursing home that would be built on the Englehart hospital property and use BRH services for meals, maintenance and laundry.
The pandemic then began, and there hasn’t been much movement on the project, VanSlyke said. “We’re starting to revisit the conversation,” she said. There were requests to improve communication. VanSlyke said BRH is working on a newsletter that could be distributed in a variety of ways. There was also a call for the hospital to improve communication with patients’ families. Other suggestions included increasing resources in the hospital to deal with patients with mental health concerns and addictions; increasing the number of visiting specialists; and providing dialysis treatment. ER CLOSURES VanSlyke advised the group
of the possibility of emergency department closures. BRH is one of the few hospitals that hasn’t had to close its emergency departments’ doors during the pandemic, she said. But there have been two or three close calls in the past three months because of doctor shortages, she said. The situation is most serious in Kirkland Lake. Closures were avoided because BRH was able to bring people in, she said. If there is a closure, she said BRH may be able to provide only three hours’ notice. In that case, she said ambulances would take patients to the closest available hospital. BRH has created a recruitContinued on 3a