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The Observer | Saturday, April 19, 2008
Kings split first two games of round-robin series....................................... »16 Maggie’s Getting Married in ETC play
»19 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 16
SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2008
www.ObserverXtra.com
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THE RIdE STOPS HERE Conestogo firefighters quickly contained a vehicle fire on Crowsfoot Road, near Katherine Street, Thursday morning. Mechanical failure was pegged as the cause. No one was injured. PHOTO | MARC MIQUEL HELSEN
Local health care gets $23-million boost Province provides 4.5% increase to Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network for 2008-09 MARC MIQUEL HELSEN Faced with an aging population that continues to grow, the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network (WWLHIN) got a boost this week when the province announced it would inject another $23.2 million into the local health-care network. A 4.5-per-cent increase from last year, the grant will translate into an operating base of about $814 million for 2008-2009, compared to the previous year’s $795 million; and an operation base for hospitals of $535 million compared to last year’s $511 million. “It is a good start to address the issues.
Does it address them 100 per cent? No, but it is a good investment in our area,” said WWLHIN chief executive officer Sandra Hanmer. One of the 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN) across the province, the Waterloo-Wellington outfit is charged with planning, integrating and funding health care services. Created by the provincial government in 2006, the not-for-profit corporations work with local health providers to determine priorities in the regions. “It (funding) is a good step and as we continue to work with all of our providers of health services, we keep looking at creative and innovative ways to reduce duplication and ensure that the
high quality care is available for residents in our area,” said Hanmer. Of the $23 million in new funding, $13 million will cover base increases to the hospital operating budget; the remaining $10 million will go towards reducing wait times, small hospital allocations, and program growth. Already burdened by growing wait times and a lack of beds, the area also faces additional stresses posed by an aging population. “We are a growing population; the money is not enough to address all of our high-pressure areas so, our board has chosen to invest in three programs that provide services LHIN-wide,” said Hanmer, noting that additional dollars
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will go towards a LHIN-wide vascular surgery program led by Guelph General; a cardiac care program led by St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener; and a complex continuing care program steered by St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Guelph. In addition, money will go to Homewood Health Centre to provide crisis mental health services in rural areas. Hanmer noted the funding will help reduce wait times, consequently allowing hospitals to do more surgeries (cardiac, cataract, hip and knee replacements). “In the case of MRIs and CT it means that we can operate the machines for more hours than we currently are; so, that allows us to hopefully reduce the See WWLHIN page »06
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