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6 economist suntribune thursday jan 6 2000 s stouffville tribune a metroland community newspaper 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffville ont l4a 7x5 publisher ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra weller deputy editor debora kelly editor julie caspersen production director cherikay distribution director barry goodyear online publishing manager brian kirlik classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager stacey allen business manager margaret fleming office manager vivian oneil editorial solving healthcare crisis will take time york region officials have a poor prognosis for the healthcare crisis were experiencing despite how bad the symptoms already appear we havent seen anything yet expect the current disturbing situation with its crowded emergency rooms overflow ing acute care wards and ambulances driving hither and yon seeking help for ill patients to grow worse through march we have sharply criticized the tories man agement of the muchneeded restructuring acknowledging that they have done much to launch a process but nothing to complete it having said that here in york region its not strictly a lack of government funding that is perpetuating the crisis one of the biggest problems our hospitals face is a real estate issue we have a shortage of available space in a growing market theres also a shortage of nurses but even if the province approved hiring hundreds of nurses there are two duemmas the nurses who were laid off in cutbacks have either found other employment or have left the profession complicating the demand this year is that there are more emergency room patients and more of them are seriously ill for the first time markham stouffville went on critical care bypass earlier this week and york central hospital emergency room staff warned paramedics theyd treat the seriously ill patients but theyd have to do it on ambu lance gumeys because there were no other beds so what must be done initially we must continue to do what we can to assist our healthcare facilities by assessing the true nature of our own illnesses if its a cold or a mild flu stay away from the emergency room if its abad flu awalkin clin ic will suffice in the long term be aware that our hospi tals are planning expansion projects that will address our serious growth issues and the provinces restructuring process will eventually find its completion point with funds and services allocated appropriately across ontario this has been a most unfortunate season for health care in ontario but the future looks brighter opinion letters to the editor education funds should be spent on students not keepsakes re letter by james wetmore millennium booka keepsake that shouldnt be trashed jan 2 i pay education taxes so that my children and other children in this province may receive an education not to receive keepsake books printed by the government of ontario we are all more than aware of the funding shortage in education we hear it from stu dents teachers trustees and government leaders schools are iri need of books sup plies and teachers all of these items plus other needs for schools are paid for with tax dollars if there are not enough funds for these things how can there be funds to have a mil lennium book printed and distributed to every student in the province james wetmore questions bleeding heart liberals as to what they have done with the 1967 commemorative coin they received he also asks if we are willing to return the tax cuts that were given free of charge tax cuts mean extra money in consumers pockets which results in more spending which is good for the economy returning these books to the government will not change our economy but it may send a message to our government leaders that we are sick and tired of their constant and frivo lous spending of our tax dollars when the budget is balanced and school and parent groups no longer need to run con stant fundraisers to obtain the money required to purchase computers and books for our schools then the government can jus tify spending 2 million on commemorative books and other keepsakes until then education taxes should be spent on education barbreid markham thanks to businesses and helpers for successful kettle campaign on behalf of the salvation army in markham i wish to express a heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped out in so many ways during our christmas kettle campaign a special thanks is extended to the man agement of markville shopping centre loblaws and the lcbos in markham and stouffville their cooperative and christmas spirit was much appreciated by all involved the greatest thanks however is reserved for the volunteers who assisted with their time and energy the packing of hampers and toys at the centre along with the ever diligent kettle workers has made this campaign one of the most successful ventures ever owenbuddenlt markham letters policy stouffville tribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity and space write utters to the editor 37 sandiford dr suite 306 stouffville ont l4a 7x5 email ietters0econsuncom stouffville tribune serving the community since 1888 b3n3 ape canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council canadian publications mail product sales agreement i1403419 subscription rates by mail 1 year 6955 luesdays only stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing ltd group of newspapers which includes the ajaxpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrle advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingoodwasaga connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry routes etobicoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetanguishene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakvide beaver oakville shopping news orillia today oshawawhitbyclarlngtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune today seniors uxbridge tribune and city of york guardian phone 95 6402100 fax 95 6405477 classified 18007433353 distribution 905 6402100 telephone 905 6402100 fax 905 6405477 email newsroomecortsuncom dave teetzel preventive medicine the best prescription a casual observer couldnt help but be confused by the great gulf between the rosy hospital fimding announcements before christmas and the chaos in gta emergency wards ever since on monday sick kids was the only hospital in the greater toronto area accepting emergency patients two hos pitals were on redirect so they could take only the most critical patients and 22 were on critical care bypass which meant not even serious cases were being accepted how can this be when me ministry of health just poured 23 million into emergency wards on dec 21 on dec 23 york regions three hospi tals received a combined 105 million to cope with growth and relieve emer gency ward pressures add that to the fundirig just announced and you have about 165 million in extra money going toward york region hospitals without easing the problem you could be forgiven for thinking the government is just throwing money into a big hole and in a way you would be right the most recent round of funding just manages to pay off the deficits run by local hospitals to meet local demand make no mistake york regions hos pitals are the model of costefficient operation rut every one of those funding announcements w dwarfed by the amount of money the hospital had already spent to provide needed ser vices so no doubt the province will have to throw even more money at hos pitals perhaps if ohip gave more support to preventive wellnessbased treat ments the emergency wards would be a little less crowded the province might also want to invest a little money on public educa tion because a big part of the problem is people going to the hospital for condi tions that are best treated with rest and chicken soup right now there are a lot of mixed messages about this issue while hospi tals try to discourage people from run ning to the hospital for every little thing the other morning some whiny morning talk show host was chastising men for being reluctant to go to the doctor what about a widely distributed booklet of guidelines explaining that the common cold is not fatal and can be treated at home sure that means spending money on advertising and public relations but it wouldnt cost any more than last springs raft of preelection commercials and events informing us that the province was indeed spending money on health care