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The Era Newmarket Oat Urn T OTTAWA REPORT STUBS Were in debt r more than ever before Weve made it Canadians are now more deeply in debt than any other people in the world Collectively our outstanding consumer debt amounted to nearly billion In almost for each man woman and child Eves more alarming our ever increasing demand for credit Between and appetite for credit has increased three times faster than our personal disposable income so that by such credit represented more than per cent of our personal income Aside from the obvious implications such high borrowing has placed on our personal and national economic health the skyrocket ting use of consumer credit has taxed existing legislation to the breaking point The Interest Act the main instrument through which the government regulates interest rates has not been amended since 1917 And two other federal statutes governing credit the Small Loans Act and the Pawnbrokers Act were penned in Clearly there is a great need for revised credit guidelines When Parliament resumes this week it will be asked to deal with the Borrowers and Depositors Protection Act This Act will replace to some extent the hodgepodge of provincial credit regulations and antiquated federal legislation with standardized guidelines among its provisions is a retirement that there should be full and detailed disclosure of all credit costs to prevent hidden loaded or addon expenses In an age when consumer credit plays such a large role in our economy no reasonable person could dispute the need for increased protection for the consumer But the problem with this bill as proposed is the vagueness of its provisions In a bill of clauses there are at least 20 distinct cases where the interpretation and application of the guidelines Is left to the dtaxetion of the government which means the bureaucracy Such arbitrary powers controlling the manner and form in which billions of dollars are deposited or loaned In each year can only lead to greater uncertainty and confusion in the business community and ultimately to higher consumer costs For example one provision of the bill gives borrowers the right to a court review of any credit or interest rate governing consumer transactions Under this provision a borrower who feels he is being charged an exorbitant rate may simply cease payment on his loan until the court has ruled on the matter In addition to tying up our already overburdened courts with unnecessary cases this provision might be abused by anyone who simply does not want to pay his debt Such delayed payments will in crease the cost of the lender and will inevitably be passed on to other consumers the very people this legislation Is designed to protect Another provision fa intended to strike a It is estimated this activity whi ch involves the charging of exorbitant interest rates amounts to three billion dollars worth of business per year The would create a criminal rate above which it would be illegal to charge borrowers but here too the legislation is poorly prepared Although the government has referred to a criminal rate it has not In dkated what that rate would be This too left to the discretion of the government The Minister has indicated that a suitable criminal rate of interest would be anything above per cent per year This suggestion has raised protests from certain consumer groups who claim the criminal rate should be 30 per cent or perhaps points above the prime hank lending rate Ait then the question arises what should be included in an interest rate charge Take CHARGEX for example If you pay your account promptly no interest charged But if you delay interest starts running at per cent per month or it per cent per year But that is only part of the story When you make your initial purchase unknown to most consumers the merchant charged by Charge four or five percent on the total amount you are buying For example If you make a purchase the merchant will net only fas or see of that amount the balance deducted when Charges settles your account with the merchant So in effect If the regulations provide that this type of merchant charge should be as you have paid four or five per cent that month on per year Has is the governments dilemma They do not particular ry want to kill credit earth such as Charges or but on the other hand definition of Interest charges without all direct and indirect charges If they are not reasonably precise they feel loan sharking rnit continue On the other band they might trouble for operator the credit card companies of bin that are equally illprepared and we in the Party will be taw cm to refine gad clarify this first significant piece of legislation many years Two rings are often la keep stroke victims and other aattcnta afloat while physiotherapists manipulate damaged muscles Above Dorfe Bruckner works with Mrs MOboaro of Zephyr SIX MONTHS AFTER IT OPENBD York County Hospitals new therapeutic pool has full By ERIKA BURKE NEWMARKET In the six months since its opening last June the number of patients being treated in the day program at York County Hospitals new therapeutic pool has climbed steadily from an initial 50 to 300 The Watson Therapeutic Pool was built and equipped from the raised in a February telethon on the Barrie television station Besides a full day time schedule the Pool also accommodates an evening program designed to provide recreation for the handicapped and elderly three nights a week with the aid of volunteers Fran hospital rehabilitation manager says the pool has two principal uses therapy and recreation Tor the handicapped When a patient is referred to the rehabilitation by the doctor an appointment is made with a physiotherapist in the area where treatment has been designated The patient can receive therapy from more than one area at a time In such cases ap pointments are made in the two areas so that they coincide and the patient is not required to come to the hospital twice where one visit could look after both appointments according to Mrs Burger Charlotte Garner a bilingual physiotherapist at the hospital for several years visited therapeutic facilities in Europe on behalf of the hospital to learn the la test methods and best uses for the pool Every general hospital in Europe has a therapeutic pool she says They are as common to the hospitals in Europe as cafeterias are to the hospitals in Canada After referral to the rehabilitation department by a doctor the patient is given an appointment with a therapist who analyses the capabilities of the patient in terms of treatment in the water or gym The therapist what type of Ireatment is most beneficial before the patient is placed with a group and goes into the pool After a couple of weeks of this the patient is reassessed and treatment in the pool may be discontinued or changed depending on the patients condition FIRST PATIENTS The first group of patients in the pool were victims of arthritis strokes or back injuries Their capabilities in terms of speed and area of movement were limited It is not necessary to become ac customed to the water because it is kept at a tem perature between degrees and 96 degrees They Joined hands to form a circle in the pool each sup porting the other Most of them arrived in wheel chairs and had to be transferred from the wheel chair to the elevator chair that lowers them into the water Once in the water they are capable of movement that is im possible for them on land For exactly onehalf hour they went through a series of exercises First they would raise one leg from the bottom of the pool attempting to show their toes above the water Many could not attain that much movement but the effort was helpful to their Joints Then they did various types of manipulations with their legs In the water Towards the end of their half hour the patients anchor their heels over the railing at water level around the circumference of the pool and draw themselves forward then back giving exercise to their leg muscles and to their Joints They are kept afloat by a ring similar to the inner tube of a tire that is around their upper torso and under their arms Some also wear neck rings to keep their head above the water if their neck is weak The final activity is to place yourself in front of a Jet opening and bang onto the hand railing The Jets are turned on and he effect is like having a massage This to aid blood circulation and for patients who spend many hours in pain it Just plain feels good For example Charlotte kept one man who had suffered a stroke afloat with rings One ring was placed around the upper torso and the other around his hips By having the two rings on in this manner the man was kept afloat In a near horizontal position Charlotte then manipulated him in various exercises In one she held his head gently between her hands and with the man floating on the water she was able by swaying the head from left to right to cause the entire bodV to float from left to right hereby gently exer cising all the parts of the body from the neck down to the toes The exercise can be changed by placing the rings differently and grasping a different part of the bony For example in another exercise she held the right leg of the patient and turned him around in a circle Almough the motion was created by holding one leg the ether leg was also receiving exercise by the resistance of the water when the body was being can keep the paralyzed part of the body moving until the brain can take over movement again Patients who come to the pool in wheelchairs crippled from arthritis stroke multiple sclerosis back injury and hip damage and are entirely incapable of movement while on ground are able to move con siderably in the water Ms Garner pointed out water is not a miracle cure it is just a part of the treatment A person who Is immobile is helped to become more mobile in the water When patients begin treatment In the pool they are only able to function in the pool With exercise their muscles become stronger When their mobility and strength increases sufficiently they are put into a program that incorporates the gym as well as the pool For some patients the pool is only a temporary relief and progress to a better physical state is impossible The stroke patient who is paralyzed on one side must first learn how to recover his balance in the water Because he has no feeling on one side he will topple into the water whet he loses his balance Once he has learned how to recover he is able to work alone on his exercises THREE SESSIONS A WEEK John a 68yearold gentleman from Sutton has suffered from arthritis for several years On July he had a stroke and consequently spend seven weeks in the hospital He says as soon as he returned home he began to receive therapy for one hour each week to get his arms and legs moving He still does these exercises daily Because of his immobility while recovering from the stroke his arthritis flared up He says his muscles are becoming stronger and he attributes this to the three weekly sessions he spends In the therapeutic pool with Charlotte Garner putting him through his exercises John says the exercises he does in the pool sap his strength and leaves him so ravenous that he must have a sandwich before leaving the hospital Mrs Dorcas Devins of Aurora has been taking in the pool since Nov of this year Years ago she had what was then known as tuberculosis of the hip With this ailment the bone decays She had good years before the hip problem surfaced For the past three years the pain has become more and more severe During the summer her doctor referred her to a specialist in Toronto and it was decided the hip should be operated on At the Wellesley General Hospital on Oct they placed a plate in her hip to replace a socket that was completely gone As soon as the incision had healed they had Mrs into the pool She left General Hospital Nov and began her treatment in the pool at York Regional Hospital Nov She Is unable to put any weight on the hip when she is on ground but Is quite capable of standing on her two feet when in the water HIP PATIENTS Mrs Devins was part of the second group to receive treatment In the pool All the people in this group had hip problems Some of the exercises she was involved in were aimed at getting more movement in the legs and thus more motion in the Joints Mrs said if it were not for the pool she would be in agony all the time She said that over the weekend when she cannot use the pool she suffers considerable pain The benefit she receives from the pool is spiritual as well as physical she said Many hours in a wheelchair can be very depressing At the pool there are two young ladies called physioaids They are Kathy and Barbara Ann McGee These girls help the patients get ready for the pool They help them from their wheelchairs onto the elevator seat that lowers them into the water They shower them before and after they are in the pool They also keep the towels and poo area clean They wear swim suits while on duty so that they can enter the pool from time to time to help the therapist with a patient EVENING PROGRAM Shirley of Aurora the of the evening program which has been operating at the pool since June Us purpose is to provide recreation to the handicapped and the elderly At present Shirley has the pool operating three evenings each week with the help of volunteers The pool is open on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursdays evenings and on Saturday afternoon It is their intention to continue to expand the evening program until all the available pool time is used The participants in the evening are handicapped children and adults Senior citizens are allowed to participate in the program without being handicapped Similar to the day program the time in the pool for each group is exactly one half hour However unlike the day program there is no treatment during the evening The program is basically to provide recreation and enjoyment New people coming to the pool are handled on a onetoone basis until they become familiar with the water Once they are com fortable and capable in the pool more people can be added to the group which usually numbers seven to people Most volunteers are qualified in the water and have a bronze or better In February the volunteers expect to take the Instructors Aid to the Disabled course that will be conducted by the Red Cross Some volunteers are just interested in helping and go through an orientation on how to manage people in the water This orientation usually takes two hours and is conducted by Mrs before the volunteer starts working in the pool She has been very active In the Crest Club that operates at Quaker Hill Pool The members of the club are handicapped children Since the therapeutic pool has been open Mrs brings handicapped children from the Crest Club program into the pool at the hospital to learn how to swim Usually these children have never been in the water before and cold water is quite a shock to them However the pool is near body temperature therefore the handicapped Id does not have to overcome the shock of cold water while learning to swim As soon as the child is com fortable in the water they are able to cope with the cold water at the Quaker Hill Pool People wishing to participate in the evening program can call the York Regional Hospital and ask for Shirley at local TO be admitted Into the program you must be handicapped or a senior citizen A medical form can be obtained from Shirley This form must be completed and signed by a doctor before being admitted Into the pool program A hydraulic is used patients Into York County there aefc pool Anne Pa ahave ia being hi with the aid attendant Deris A Photos by PAUL COATES TREATMENT FOR STROKE Whan a person suffers a stroke half the body Is paralyzed because it la not receiving its signals from the damaged brain Part of the rabiern la to keep the paralyzed part from seizing up from nonuse Therefore as soon as the person baa sufficiently recovered from a ha Is nut into the water so be Water Ha set the side the pool are ted to manage patients damaged mettle They help ta res tare bleed gal patient Eagie the high- sawBESBBSBavna