Why? SAVE OUR HOSPITAL!

When we began we had hoped that we could convince our elected representatives along with their Health Systems Board that Fort Erie needed to keep Douglas Memorial open which included 24/7 Urgent Care, Diagnostics, Palliative and Complex Care, Physio-therapy and we could look jointly at other needs within our community that would be a good fit for the healthcare needs of our residents. It quickly became evident that Niagara Health had no interest in continuing funding our facility and the Minister of Health had already agreed in 2009 to the closure.

This has been no easy task and there are no easy solutions, but overwhelmingly we have heard from residents across this constituency that want to have Douglas Memorial maintained and enhanced for the care of our residents. No one has said that they are not happy that a new hospital is being built in Niagara Falls, but there was no consideration or communication with our residents when it was decided to continue with this original plan even though our town has grown substantially since the plan was first conceived. Even now the business plan of Niagara Health changed to a 3 hospital system; there was no plan on how the people in Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Wainfleet or other small outlying communities would actually reach the hospitals in an efficient and timely way.

We have been told that people need to only attend to the hospitals in the case of an emergency and that backlogs are created by residents not adhering to this. Hospitals and ER’s are not meant for minor health incidents and that residents should see their own Doctor, or for those residents, (7,000 in Fort Erie) without a family Doctor they can attend by visiting the virtual nurses, go to a walk-in clinic or go to their pharmacy for recurring issues. These may be fine if you actually know what is wrong with you or your family member, these might be fine if you have someone at home that can help to take care of your needs, these might be fine if you do not require ongoing care. When my child is sick it is not always evident what the problem is and I have been told for the better part of my life that we should see a Doctor. When my aging parent is not well we need to make sure that they are getting all of the help they need, when they need it and it is far better keeping them in our community for a diagnosis and follow-up where family members are able to help and assist with driving or retrieving medicines or supports that may be needed.

Hospitals are one of the cornerstones of any community that were lucky enough to be funded or endowed with a facility close to home and family. Now straight across our Province and in fact our Country we are having a difficult time filling positions for our healthcare needs. We do not remain focused on this most times because at the moment healthcare needs may not be affecting you or your family directly so it is something to put aside, something that we assume will always be there when we need it, UNTIL IT ISN’T!

We need the medical community to speak up and help us help them find the work life balance that they are looking for as well as aiding in reducing the amount of administrative work that takes away from their Doctor/Patient time. We need the large and small businesses in our community to speak up because we know that health and safety plans require local healthcare assistance to provide for their workers needs. We need our Community groups to speak up because they are the bedrock of most communities and where those face to face communications take place. How are people feeling about the current plan to eliminate Douglas Memorial and what alternatives have been discussed? We need our Churches to speak up because we know that many of them have people that rely on the social services provided in the community and it is very difficult when services are scattered across a region that has minimal transportation services and when winter weather can prevent getting into the larger centers for help. We need all of our elected representatives to take a look at how they can help and support the needs of their constituents in their communities.

Being big and new may work for many but it does not work for all and when we talk about providing the services needed we need to ensure that those services are provided equally and not just for those that can make arrangements for rides, or for those well enough to travel into another city for help and assistance. This could be a choice for many but not for all.

We are looking for volunteers to help pass on the message to SAVE OUR HOSPITAL. Contact us for a lawn sign or to sign the petition or just let us know your expectations. A public forum may help voices to be heard or we may want to look at how we can work successfully with other small rural hospitals so no one has to be without the care they need when they need it.

We want to hear from you contact us at fo******@***********os.net or simply give us a call 905-993-2078