Sault Ste. Marie Volunteers Joining Provincial Referendum To Increase Provincial Funding to Allow Quality Hospital Services

Press Release

Sault Ste. Marie, ON – In our own community, we are seeing 22 admitted patients kept in emergency, some for as long as 5 days; patients kept along hallways; empty non-funded beds; cuts to staff that work directly with patient needs ( RNs, RPNs, mental health and addictions, occupational therapists, speech therapists, labouratory, diagnostic imaging, bone health, and pediatric psychosocial support) and cuts to department hours (operating room, ICU, oncology, surgery, infection control); people waiting 10 months for procedures; patients going hungry because of lack of help with food; patients discharged too frail and must return to emergency – due to a lack of funding.

Ontario is currently in the ninth consecutive year of real-dollar cuts to global hospital budgets, the longest stretch in Ontario’s history. These cuts mean that hospitals across the province, cannot keep up even with basic inflation. Hospitals have been cut to the point of dangerous overcrowding and understaffing and patients are paying the price.

On Monday April 25, details about a volunteer-led, cross-Ontario referendum taking place in Sault Ste. Marie and conjointly in communities all across Ontario, will be announced at a highly visual media event.

Visuals: This will be a highly visual event with red balloons, posters

When: Monday,  April 25, 12:00 noon

Where: Sidewalk at SAH entrance, the corner of Great Northern Road and Lukenda Drive

What: Media event to launch the Sault Ste. Marie’s plan to join the Ontario-wide volunteer-led referendum to increase Provincial funding to allow sufficient hospital services –unveiling of the date of the Ontario Referendum

Who: Sault and Area Health Coalition  & Ontario Health Coalition.

For more information: contact Margo Dale 705 254 2885, margodale@shaw.ca  or Natalie Mehra, executive director, Ontario Health Coalition, 416-441-2502 (office), 416-230-6402 (cell).