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Tenants celebrate .Ierome award Celebrate new smoking for V tbyDhgamn 4 room st'jdent y paeffge L 1f1 ae vrmî Hospital sign remov al 'crazy,9 says councilior Redmen lead 3-0 page2O 20,000 sign SOGH petitiýon By Mke Kowalsld Whitby General Hospital offil- ciels could have a fight on their hands ever a request te romove oigns directing travellers te the hospital. A recent ltter from hospital M rsident Elizabeth Barton te ityspubuiie works depart- ment has drawn the wratb of Town councillors John Doîtra and Dennis Fox. The two are upset that Barton wouid seek the departmnent's heip in rernoving« the blue and white 'H' signs fromn municipal roads. They firmiy reject the hospi- tai's contention that it is only obeying provincial law in making the request, due te the fect that emergency services are no longer available at Whitby General on a 24-bour basis. «Wre're holding public meetings te do wbatever's possible toke acute care services in Whtby, said Dolstra, in referring te local opposition te a pro psai te con- vert Whitby General inte a reha- bilitation treatment centre. «Thon wo receivo a letter requesting that the H signs be taken down because the orner- gency department bas been redu- ced te 14 hours,» ho said. "I think it's crazy and totally ridiculous.» Fox agreed witb Doistre that the signshsould stay put. "Ai far as Pin concerned the community stili hes a generai hospital and we should be adver- tising it7 "ho said. «idon't see t ho it in taking down the signsewhonwe're try- ing te save it.» According te hospitai vice-pro- sident Marc Kealey, however, the Town bas ne option but te cern- ply. Since April 1, Whitby Genera's ornergoncy department has been closedt between 10 p.ni. and 8 a.m. in a cost-cutting move ex pected to save between $250,000 te $300,000 annualiy. In making the announcement lest January, bospitai officiaIs pointed eut that signs on area reads would have te be removed or aitered te refleet the new heurs. As Kealey explained, the bos- pital was informned by tbo Minis- try of Health that as a resuit of the cutbeck, provincial regula- tiens dictate that the signs corne down. The ministry considers the signs te, be indicative of 24-hour servie and sinco thet ne longer applies te Whitby General, the bespital couid be beld liable if semeone arrives after heurs, Keaiey said. SEE PAGE 13 Basebail challenge ADRIAN MODONALD, 11, rushes T.J. Pe7r, 7, towards homeplate to make a play dunng a Chai enge League basebali game last week in Oshawa. Diàabléd children from ail over Durham play in the league, which has garnes evèryMndayat Lakeview Park In Oshawa. Phtoaby Ma urk Reec Ny'Fr90 Prme By Mike Kowali A campaign te preserve ecute care boath services at Whitby Generai Hospital continues te pick up steam. In iess than twe menthe, citi- zens' group Save Our Generel Hospital (SOGH) bas collected more than 20,000 naines on a et ition wjýhicb demanda reten- tinof active treatment services et Whitby Generai. The pettion wiil be presented %nt0ieHeaith Minister Ruth Grier as soon as a meeting can be beld with the. minister. In addition, SOGH bas ergan- ized, a nUxnbe of, other activities in its flgbt te prevont the hospi- tai from being converted inte a rebabilitation treatment centre serving ail of Durham Region. Lapel buttons proclaiming 'Save Your General Hdi .tl' Il be available frein SQ H mein- bers and varieus businesses in Whitb r in the coming weeks. Whe on Sept. 15, a public raliy in support of the hospital is planned for Iroquois Park. Details of t he raily will be announced et a later date, said SOGH spokesperson JoAnne Prout. For the moment, the group is cencentrating on seiiing buttons, ebe said. The butten campaign heu a «two-foid" purpese, Prout expiained. 'W e want te raiso awareness and keep the issue about the possible ciosure before the pub- lic said Prout. ?'Ifs aise te raise money. We don't bave the resources ef some of the other groupa invoived," she said. SOGH is but one of a number of organizatiens in Whitby wbich oppose recommendations con- tained in a consultant's report prepared for the Durbam ]Region District Health Council. Service clubs, hospital employees, local doctors and Town council have ail submitted briefs in response to the. pro- foed changes which were out- line in a discussion paper reieased by the heaith councilin studsy of soute care health services in D)urham Region recommends converting Whutby General into a- centre devotod eiusüiveiy to the practice of rehabilitativemedicine. ' Patients recovering fromn seri- ous ilineas, suger or trauma would be treate& in the^ proose rebabilitatiori centre. Services iassoéciated with a general bespital would no longer be offered et Whitby General if the health counicil and ulti- mateiy, the Ontario government, accept the study's proposaIs. Whitby residents in need of omreency services or surgery would travel te either Osbawa Generai Hospital or Ajax-Picker- ing Generai Hospital, the study proposes. Predicting that the figbt te keep acute care services et the 25-year-old bospitai. wiii be a «long and drawn eut procesa,» Prout said money fromi button SE PAGER3 Quality' Pae16 Good start to hospital fundraihi B yMike Kowalski Gamrlng on a fundraising campaign wiie facing an uncor- tain future appears te have paid off for Whitby General Hospital. Injust over one rnonth, Wbitby rosi dent s contributed $8,000 te, the bospital's latest fndraising endeevour, WhitbyGeeral vice- president Marc Keaiey reporte. A direct mail solicitation undertaken in late June is the first of twe appeais intended te, raise $600,000 during the next 12 months. Mono y wiii be used te, buy surgical instruments and equip- ment sucb as e $165,000 ultra sound unit and $30,000 aneathe- tic machine. Altbough pieased witb the res- pense te dlate, Kealey admits uncertainty over Whitby General'e fuiture bas affected hospital fundraising efforts te a certain degree. A consultants report prepared for the Durbam Region District Healtb Council recommonds that Whitby Genoral be converted inte, a rebabilitation treatment contre serving the entire region. If the Ontario governinent accepta the report's findinge, Wbitby residents will eventually be sent te bhospitals in eitber Oshawa or Ajax for general care. But rather than blame the consultant's report for any im- pact it may have on fundraising, Keaiey is- somewbat critical of the publices reaction te, the pro- posed changes. Ho belioves local rosidents may be inadvertantly giving the governinent the * wrong message with some of their actions. Specificaliy, Keaiey cites deci. siens taken by some area service clubs te, witbold donations te the hoptal until its fate is known. "Iha'a he indof tbing the Ministry of Heaith wouid be iooking et,» ho said, "Dees the community support its genorai bospital?» By refusing te help the bospi- tel financiaiiy, «tbey migbt think SEE PAGE 3 MUIB AK