Orazietti trashes dippers

NEWS RELEASE

DAVID ORAZIETTI, MPP

************************** Provincial government making record investments in health care in Sault Ste. Marie

NDP attempts to mislead public yet again

SAULT STE. MARIE - The leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) has been attempting to mislead Sault Ste. Marie residents on the McGuinty government’s commitment to health care funding in our community, David Orazietti, MPP announced today.

“The provincial leader of the NDP, Andrea Horwath should check her facts, as the Sault Area Hospital is presently looking to hire eight Registered Practical Nurses and three Registered Nurses under the province’s New Nurse Graduate Guarantee Program,” said Orazietti. “Additionally nursing positions have been created at long-term care homes and through improvements to home care support in the community.”

Earlier this month NDP Health Critic, Frances Gelinas, accused the North East Local Health Integration Network (NE LHIN) of cutting the alternative levels of care (ALC) budget by 50 percent.

Gelinas was wrong and, in fact, all funding committed to the NE LHIN for ALC is being spent on ALC as was confirmed by the Sault Area Hospital, the NE LHIN and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

A recent letter to the Sault Star and Sault This Week from the President and CEO of Sault Area Hospital, Ron Gagnon, explained: “the ALC issue has never received the level of attention and commitment it is now getting. This includes a lot of hard work and support on the part of our community partners, the NE LHIN, its CEO Louise Paquette and Senior Director Terry Tilliczek and our MPP David Orazietti, who has taken this up directly with the Minister of Health.”

Ontarians should remember that while in government the NDP cut medical school spaces, reduced the number of nurses working by nearly 3000, built no new hospitals, and ripped up the contracts of 900,000 public sector employees including nurses, teachers, police and doctors.

In contrast, the McGuinty government has a plan for prosperity in Northern Ontario and is delivering results by making important investments in front-line health care, such as, increasing the number of family doctors, increasing the number of nurses, building the new Sault Area Hospital, and investing in projects that create jobs and help families in the North.

The McGuinty government has delivered the following key investments in front-line health care:

- Increased health care funding by 57 percent from $29 billion to $45.5 billion

- $408 million to construct new Sault Area Hospital

- $31 million in additional funding to SAH for patient service enhancements, including $13.2 million to reduce wait times and $3.7 million for new medical equipment

- $7.3 million for Algoma Public Health Building

- $5.9 million for home care and community support services

- $2.8 million toward new Algoma Residential Community Hospice (ARCH)

- $2.2 million for EMS Response Centre

- Opened the Northern Ontario School of Medicine

- 38 percent increase in physician supply by 2011

- Increased the number of international medical graduates spaces from 90-200

- 10,000 more nurses

- 900,000 more Ontarians have access to a family doctor

- Funded 150 new drugs including 39 cancer drugs

- Constructing a Nurse-led Practitioner Clinic at Sault College

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