To the Editor;

As Stratford and the HPHA celebrates the opening of the $65 million hospital wing, we in St. Marys are looking at the closure of our ED from 12 p.m. to 8 a.m. and a loss of acute care and rehabilitative beds.
It is through the "Heart and Soul" fundraising campaign as well as support from John Wilkinson, MPP, and Deb Matthews, Liberal Health Minister, that this addition has been possible. Meanwhile, rural hospitals are facing the greatest change in the level of services they can offer as well as closures.
St. Marys Memorial Hospital was built in 1949 using a lot of “Heart and Soul.” Many community members dedicated their time and money to be able to build it.
In 1996, the “Heart and Soul” of the St. Marys community fought to save a hospital that was slated for closure. Since that time, many have contributed to the foundation to support the hospital through donations and bequeaths. I doubt anyone expected that our cherished hospital would once again be facing a loss of services.
We have much to be proud of in St. Marys. Our hospital is one of only eight hospitals in the South West LHIN that is not running in a deficit. In fact, it is very strong financially. Andrew Williams stated very early in this discussion about possible cuts to services that "this is not about finances.” And just recently in the Journal Argus, Mr. Williams stated that "the decision is not financially driven.”
Mr. Michael Barrett, chair of the South West LHIN,  reiterated that comment on Aug. 5 when the local community advisory group presented to the board of the LHIN.
The HPHA explains, “Why Vision 2013? First, "there are not enough physicians, nurses and other health care professionals.” We all understand that this is an issue everywhere in Ontario, not just in rural areas.
We had a young physician interested in St. Marys but the HPHA said, “SMMH does not need family physicians but needs an ED specialist” when they are aware that no ED physician would be interested in working in a small, rural hospital, or a small, urban hospital when the extra years of their training has specialized their skills to be used in a centre of specialty where trauma cases (CTAS 1) are frequent. The SW LHIN agreed with this statement.
The Minister of Health, Deb Matthews, is helping Petrolia with their doctor shortage to cover the ED, announced the end of July in the Petrolia Topic. By changing the rules that govern Health Force Ontario, Ms. Matthews has granted Petrolia an emergency department coverage demonstration project which means Petrolia can pull doctors for coverage from Health Force Ontario which they could not do before.
Much like St. Marys’ issue with doctor coverage, Petrolia has been fighting the same battle. The doctors in Petrolia have been very active in their efforts to keep the  ED open 24/7 as well as the  Bluewater Health (similar to our HPHA). And Petrolia has a $1.2 million deficit. But they all understand the importance of having a 24/7 ED.
Also, the Erie-St. Clair LHIN rejected the plan for overnight closures starting Sept. 29 and has begun a 30-60 day review. So why is our HPHA not actively finding solutions and requesting the help of Deb Matthews?
Seaforth is reopening the ED to 24/7 and Clinton has a 24/7 ED. Surely, if it was a high priority to the HPHA, our ED would have a much brighter future.
The HPHA says that the baby boomers are aging. The Ontario average for people in a community over the age of 50 is 30 per cent. St. Marys has 36 per cent. Would it not make sense then to save our services, not expect seniors to travel 51 km for rehabilitative care and have to go by ambulance or find someone to drive them when there is an emergency between the hours of 12 p.m. and 8 a.m.?
The costs of health care are skyrocketing. That is what everyone is hearing. However, we should be proud that we are in such great financial standing. So although costs are skyrocketing, St. Marys is doing an outstanding job with its operating budget and able to have a reserve as well as no deficit.
If the ED is open only 16/7, the cost of health care will rise for the patient in our area. The patient will be responsible for ambulance fees as well as the other community members whose taxes may rise as the town will be partially responsible to pay for this service.
So as Stratford celebrates what their "Heart and Soul" has done for them, we wait to hear what the final outcome will be for our hospital and what its effect will have on our heart and soul.

Gayle Beattie
Community action group