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Steelworkers applaud Romanow report

Citing Sault Ste. Marie's Group Health Centre, United Steelworkers of America National Director Lawrence McBrearty has applauded the findings of the Romanow Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada.
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Citing Sault Ste. Marie's Group Health Centre, United Steelworkers of America National Director Lawrence McBrearty has applauded the findings of the Romanow Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada.

Here's the full text of a news release distributed by the Steelworkers tonight:

****************************************************************** Models For Good Health Care Management: STEELWORKERS APPLAUD ROMANOW REPORT

TORONTO - The United Steelworkers National Director Lawrence McBrearty says Thursday's release of the Romanow Commission Report on the Future of Health Care in Canada is an important milestone in the evolution and preservation of Canada's comprehensive, single-payer health care system. "Our union represents several thousand workers in the health sector," McBrearty said.

"For that reason, and by virtue of the fact that all citizens come in contact with the health care system several times during their lives, our message of support for the Romanow recommendations is significant.

"The pressure to move health care to a private model has been dismissed by the research conducted by the commission," he added.

"By receiving the evidence and weighing it, Romanow has brought forward recommendations that reflect the voice of Canadians." McBrearty said primary health reform is especially important to Steelworkers, who initiated the long-standing group health centre in Sault Ste. Marie.

The centre was officially opened in October, 1963, and has been operating successfully ever since.

"The centre provides multi-disciplinary, community-based and managed health care," said McBrearty.

"Today, more than 50 per cent of citizens in the Sault have their primary care needs served by the Group Health Centre.

"As the union that took that first step two years before Medicare was introduced nationally, we believe the Group Health Centre is a wonderful model for other communities, large or small."

McBrearty said Romanow has done his job, and now it is up to the government to act quickly on the Report, to expand and modernize the health care system that the majority of Canadians support.

"The high profile of this commission must be followed by immediate action," he said. "Members of our union will be watching and contacting their MPs for progress on the recommendations."

McBrearty noted the sentiments of retired Steelworkers, many of whom are members of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR), and who were on hand for several of the hearings held by the Romanow Commission.

"We are happy that the commission is recommending national initiatives in home care and pharmacare," he said.

Many of our sisters and brothers are in need of support to continue to live independently."

***************************************************************** The following is the full text of a separate release from the Association of Ontario Health Centres

Romanow recommendations a boost for community health centres in Ontario

CHCs call for new policy and new $$ in Ontario Budget 2003

TORONTO, Nov. 28 - Primary care reform and community health centres (CHCs) in Ontario just got a big boost from Commissioner Roy Romanow, say leaders of the association representing 65 community health centres in Ontario.

"Mr. Romanow has laid out a clear plan that would see community health centers upgraded where they presently exist and spread right across the country" said Cathy Jordan, President of the Association of Health Centres of Ontario.

"For two decades in Ontario, we have not received the recognition and the consistent funding that our patients deserve" said Cathy Jordan, President of AOHC. (Association of Ontario Health Centres).

"We are hopeful that Mr. Romanow's plan will change this."

"We are calling on the Federal Government, the Government of Ontario, and the Ontario Medical Association to step up to the table and sign on-going block-funding agreements that will provide communities with the financial backing and predictability that will meet the goals spelled out in Mr. Romanow's report", she added. Since 1992, CHC salaries have been frozen.

Consequently, since 2000, virtually no new clinical patients have been seen in CHCs.

CHCs specialize in primary care services and feature:

- a focus on health promotion and disease prevention - multi-disciplinary teams include nurses, nurse practitioners, doctors, and other healthcare professionals - all staff on salary, including doctors, rather than fee-for-service

- governance by a community board

100 communities are applying for a CHC, but none has been accepted to date.

The province's 65 CHCs presently serve 300,000 Ontarians, about 3% of Ontario's population. CHCs are cost effective because clinical patients see doctors less often than they see nurses or other health staff; fewer prescriptions per patient are written; patients use hospital Emergency Rooms less often; and 'community health challenges' are tackled through the Centre.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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