Let’s talk about hospitals - it’s not just about the patients - it is about patient care. So you say what is the difference. We need to know we will receive the sound medical diagnostics and medical help we need as soon as it is possible. We also need to know that in recovery we will be cared for by trained professionals that can help should things go wrong but what we also need is a relative or friend or a caregiver that can help to support us locally. This has been left out of the business model that our government and Niagara Health has put forward.
Douglas Memorial was built to take care of patients in our community in order to also allow people in the community to care for each other and for families to be together when there is a health crisis in the family. Fort Erie is a border community to the United States and is home to a large number of summer residents both in Crystal Beach and in Sherkston Shores and beyond. Having a hospital is essential to provide health services in case of a tragic accident at the border or on the water; it also is a place known to this transient community as a place to seek help when experiencing health issues. Why would our community not have an immediate source of care 24/7. Niagara Health says they will consider what recommendations the communities put forward. In Fort Erie they are saying to keep and maintain our Urgent Care Centre 24/7. Douglas Memorial was not built as a primary care office building; it was built to house Doctors, nurses and other support staff to take care of the health needs in our communities.
People in large urban centers have had the opportunity to have better transportation sources in their areas while those of us on the outskirts have focused on essential services for our communities. One such essential service was our healthcare and the services that could be provided through our hospital system to end long sometimes painful journeys into larger centers to follow-up on our care because transportation is an issue for so many in our community that also deserve high quality healthcare.
Douglas Memorial needs to remain part of the Niagara Health Services. It is not part of Niagara Healths mandate to close it, but rather to coordinate care needed in our communities
OHTs (Ontario Health Teams) are intended to improve the coordination of care and services for patients and their families/caregivers across multiple care settings.
Fort Erie can be a part of this system. We have rooms and we can offer to take some of the overflow from the busy emergency centres. We can also offer a place for new nurses and Doctors to train and to work with patients while they recover in Douglas Memorial allowing emergencies in other hospitals to be treated and taken care of quicker and with dignity.
We have been able to raise funds to help run Douglas and to provide necessary equipment to care for our people. We have been able to be a resource for our primary care physicians in a way that allows us to get the help we need when we need it. Patients, their families, their friends and their Doctors know the value of Douglas Memorial now Niagara Health needs to come on board and understand that we are the answer to their crisis in healthcare- just make it happen!
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