+and+Ground+Ambulance+picking+up+patient+from+northern+Alberta.jpg) |
| Rob Bernshaw Standing in front of a Fixed Wing Medevac on the ECCA Tarmac 'Leaving No Patient Behind' |
It is Family Day here in Alberta of 2013 and let us talk about what is near and dear to families of all sizes. Families large or small depend on timely access to health care no matter where one lives whether in the rural or urban environments. Let us be clear here about what constitutes a family in the eyes of this writer. Families can be from a single individual to an infinite number of individuals. Think about the family tree for a moment and how it starts with one individual and branches out to encompass many individuals to form generations of branches making up a family tree.
After this brief introduction to family day will ‘Leave No Patient Behind’ become the new battle cry of all Albertans as we come into a new budget cycle here in Alberta? It seems like the current Alberta government is on the same road of health care cuts that a former Alberta Premier by the name of Ralph Klein was on from 1992 – 2000 when Hospitals like the Calgary General Hospital in downtown Calgary was blown up. Was this a grandiose way of destroying publicly funded health care facilities to herald the beginning of private for profit health care here in Alberta? Was it a sign of the beginning of the end to publicly funded Universal Health Care that all Albertans are receiving?
From 1992 to 2000, Ralph Klein devoted much of his attention to eliminating Alberta’s deficit. Citing health care, education and social services as areas that had to be constrained, Klein oversaw cuts to the health budget that meant per capita spending declined from $1,393 in 1992 to $1,156 in 1995. This was matched by the elimination of or reduction of hours for 14,753 positions in health care. Regionalization of Alberta’s health care was intended to rationalize health services, but the Calgary Regional Health Authority, for example, opted to close three downtown hospitals in order to concentrate services at more modern facilities. One of the hospitals was leased to an American for-profit health group, while the old Calgary General Hospital was blown up in October 1998. Such dramatic evidence of the shift to alternative forms of health care did not resonate with the many Calgarians who were left without access to emergency care in the downtown core.It seems that even though the current Tory government is not physically blowing up health care facilities as an attack on our publicly funded health care but metaphorically speaking is by canceling or not renewing contracts(such as the Alberta Air Ambulance contract for the Lac La Biche region in northern Alberta). Closing down important long term health care for vulnerable seniors in facilities such as the Little Bow Continuing Care Centre for seniors in towns like Carmangay. Closing transition beds in very important tertiary care hospitals like the Royal Alex in Edmonton and publicly attacking the front line staff of doctors nurses and health care personnel that help us the patient or potential patient to have a healthy and meaningful life moving forward.
~source http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/medicare/medic-8h11e.shtml
With the province clipping the wings of Alberta Air Ambulance service in Lac La Biche is this the eve of destruction for our northern neighbors and friends that are feeling the pressure from the plans of the Province to move the Alberta Air Ambulance service to the airport in Leduc many miles\kilometers from life saving tertiary care hospitals in downtown Edmonton.
Maybe this current Alberta administration is not physically blowing up buildings yet as the former Klein administration did but they are metaphorically speaking blowing up the timely life saving access to health care that rural communities depend on so dearly and us in urban environments take for granted. How would one feel if we put ourselves in our northern neighbors and friends shoes this Family Day? Would we begin to feel and understand even a little bit of pressure that our northern rural friends and neighbors are under knowing that they are having their health care needs thrown out of the plane without a parachute. The medevac services are being blown up bit by bit in front of their faces and all in the name of political expediency supporting a bad decision by the current Edmonton mayor and most of his city council.
This current Tory government under a new leader is still the same governing party that has been in power for over 42 years. A rose by any other name is still a rose. Except roses smell much sweeter than this current Alberta government does at the moment.
At the time of inception of the ‘Eve of Destruction’ song the Vietnam war was taking place and as the lyrics suggests many friends and neighbors would not be coming home. Substitute the words ‘Red China’ with other words like ‘The World’ and ‘Selma Alabama’ with ‘Rural Alberta’ and try to imagine for a moment that the current threat being faced by many of our neighbors and friends to their life giving timely access to the health care system is any different than pushing a button and dropping a bomb. The bomb is not an atomic bomb but may as well feel like one to the people under this current threat from the Provincial Government of the day to blowing up health care and timely medevac access in the Alberta of 2013.
A 19 year old boy by the name of P. F. Sloan wrote this timeless classic of a song and there are still grown ups running the country today as there was yesterday. The schoolyard sand box being played in is still the same size today as it was yesterday.
Eve of Destruction is a timeless protest song and is as relevant today in 2013 as it was when it was sung passionately and fervently by Barry McGuire in 1965.
Eve of Destruction (P. F. Sloan) lyrics:The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'
But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.
Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say
Can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today?
If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away
There'll be no one to save, with the world in a grave
[Take a look around ya boy, it's bound to scare ya boy]
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.
Yeah, my blood's so mad feels like coagulatin'
I'm sitting here just contemplatin'
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don't pass legislation
And marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin'
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'
And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.
Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it's the same old place
The poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace
And, tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don't believe
We're on the eve
Of destruction
Mm, no no, you don't believe
We're on the eve
of destruction.
~source http://artists.letssingit.com/barry-mcguire-lyrics-eve-of-destruction-s1m88lj#axzz2LFsnxm8E
Take a moment to reflect this Family Day of how families of any size are very important and we all want and need timely access to our health care system whether in the urban or rural environment. We in the urban environment take so much for granted with our timely ground ambulance service. No matter where we live in the Alberta of today we need to stand up and speak out loudly, clearly and if necessary to shout it loud on the rooftops to this current Alberta administration quit blowing up our health care so that ourselves, our neighbors and friends wherever they may live in wonderful Alberta will continue to receive the timely health care access that we all deserve.
There was no stay of execution for the demise of the Calgary General Hospital back in 1998 but with a concerted effort from all concerned Albertans regarding the very important health care needs of our northern rural neighbors and friends than a stay of execution to timely medevac access could be invoked by this current Alberta government. Speak up Alberta before a bad decision in the unmitigated move of medevac to the airport in Leduc is turned into a catastrophe for rural northern communities.
Leave No Patient Behind in 2013 like they did in 1998 stand up, speak out loud and make yourself heard by writing, emailing, calling on the phone or even speaking up in person whenever and wherever possible.
At the bottom of this column please find related links where a link to the website Save Our Medevac is located. On the Save Our Medevac website there is a link to Alberta MLA’s that need to hear Alberta’s loud voice not a hoarse whisper.
Another note S.T.A.R.S even though a valuable compliment to the fixed wing Alberta Air Ambulance Service(medevac) is not a ‘be all end all’ solution. Both the rotary S.T.A.R.S. and the fixed wing medevac services are both valuable, complimentary and necessary in the Alberta of 2013. One without the other is not as effective as both together saving lives of many people every day here in Alberta and Canada.
Have a great Family Day everyone where ever you may be in celebrating the great gift of Family we have all been given.
Related links:
Wow! You have put into words so eloquently what we in the North truly feel as well as fear. That is right, fear! I have lived in FMM for over forty years and never have I felt so abndoned and betrayed by my government. We don't believe All Albertsans are uncaring, but at imes we feel like the 'Third Alberta" (you know 'Third World'). It is not that we want pity ... we just want the same access to timely healthcare services as the rest of Albertans. Is that too much to ask for? We pay our taxes too, likely contribute more than anywhere else in the province. We would like something back in return, that is all.
ReplyDeleteIt is so refreshing to hear someone else speak up for us in a meaningful and sincere way. Thank you!
Thank you anonymous am in total agreement. Our taxes pay for publicly funded health care and there should be no one in Alberta denied timely access or be treated like a third world country. Yet it seems with this current unmitigated move of timely medevac services from the best solution to the worst solution that is what this current government is attempting to do with the timely health care access to remote rural communities. The message needs to be heard and we all need to obtain the courage to stand up for our neighbors and friends in their time of need because we never know when we will be in the same boat and need those timely oars to get to shore. So Alberta Stand Up, Speak Up,and Shout out from the rooftops if need be until this government hears the pain and fear you are feeling with this unmitigated medevac service move to an airport in Leduc( many miles away from state of the art tertiary care facilities in the heart of Edmonton). We all need to show that we care by having the heartfelt compassion that is needed to put a stop to this current governments bad decision.
ReplyDelete