Citizens for a Secular HDH

Breaking News

May 31, 2008

It is very encouraging to the Citizens group to know that the OHC is working for our hospital rights and we are grateful to Natalie from the provincial office and to Debbie and Vern from the local chapter. We all need to pull together on this issue before our democratic rights are deleted by the stroke of a pen. Members of the Citizens group are researching the prevalence of the practice of corporate rather than democratic governance. Our next move will be to blitz the premier's office with letters. Stay tuned!
Elizabeth
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From: Ontario Health Coalition
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Friday, May 30, 2008 11:17 AM
Subject: One more update...
To All Contacts in Midland and Penetanguishene:
I just spoke to the Health Minister's staff, they confirmed that the supervisor's report had been received by the Minister but it has not been adopted. They were not aware of the implications of the recommendation regarding an appointed board and were not aware that people are being denied the right to renew their memberships.

I let them know that it would be unprecedented for a Minister to intervene to wipe out a democratic hospital board process and 2000 + memberships. They are going to make inquiries into the matter and will be getting back to us. In the meantime all plans should move forward - we need the maximum number of petitions possible by Tuesday to be read into the legislature and we need the maximum number of people possible to attend the public meeting on Tuesday, June 11 at 7pm at the North Simcoe Recreation Centre. I have also been in touch with the lawyers and anticipate that we will have the legal opinion early next week.
Warm regards,
Natalie Mehra, Director
Ontario Health Coalition

Message to HDH Membership

Fellow Citizens for HDH

There has been a development since my last email.

Brady Wood, who works with Dr. Smith, contacted me to explain again the benefits of the non-elected board, no membership corporate model and to express dismay that our protest was heating up. Brady also cautioned us that action on the membership issue could jeopardize the merger.

Since we failed to reach agreement he consented to set up a conference call with the Citizens' executive committee on Monday so that as a group we can clarify how the new hospital corporation will be set up and at what point membership voting rights can be embedded in the letters patent. I reiterated that nothing short of guaranteed membership with voting rights would satisfy our demands. I agreed to put off circulation of our petition, due to be launched Monday morning, until after the call.

Watch for an update on Monday, or sooner if new information surfaces.

Anyone who has gone in to HDH te renew their membership should either email Dorothy at [email protected] or call her at 527-6299.

If we have accurate information it will help to show the Minister of Health that we are very concerned and want voting membership in our hospital.

Elizabeth O'Connor for the Citizens' Committee.

Update, May 30, 2008

I had some people coming into my office this morning telling me they were turned down when they went into HDH with their cheque. Please be advised that all you need to do is put your cheque in a closed envelope with CEO written on it and put it on the front counter. Don't speak to the receptionist because she will tell you that they won't accept it. It has gone beyond just renewing your memberships at this point. We need to have a wave of citizens concern to show the Minister of Health that this community is concerned and that we live in a democratic country.

Liesje Lancia, Communications, Citizens for HDH

Renewal of Memberships

May 30, 2008

By now those of you who have tried to renew your memberships will have met with either refusals to accept them or phone calls to pick up your cheques.

Congratulations! The purpose of this seemingly futile exercise is to collect numbers so that we can say to Minister Smitherman that the residents of Midland and area take membership in their hospital corporation very seriously. This is a symbolic protest at the cancellation of our memberships and at the proposal to eliminate voting membershjips from the new corporation.

If it is more convenient, mail in the cheques. Stay tuned, more action to follow unless we are assured by Dr. Smith that the new corporation will enshrine membership with voting rights.

Elizabeth O'Connor for the HDH Citizens' Committee.

May 29, 2008

Please pass this information on to everyone. It is VERY IMPORTANT!!!

Comrades in the HDH struggle, how wrong we were to think that the war was won! While we commend Dr. Smith's plan to merge HDH and PGH into a secular community hospital, his model of governance wipes out 100 years of democracy and must be resisted. I checked to make sure that I understood his recommendation.

Under the proposed model there would be NO voting members in the new corporation. Board membership would be restricted to the appointed officers. We would not be able to buy a membership and vote at the AGM.

In essence, the local community will lose all control of hospital governance.

Over the next week we will be unveiling a plan of action to ensure that Minister Smitherman and the senior civil servants in the ministry know how strongly local residents feel about this loss of democratic participation in the largest public institution in the area. Stay tuned and hone your protest skills! Hell hath no fury like a citizen spurned!

Elizabeth O'Connor for the HDH Citizens' Committee.

To all area residents, potential loss of voting membership rights
in hospital restructuring

Current members are urged to take immediate action and submit cheques in the amount of $5.00 per person, payable to HDH Corporation and drop it off at the front desk at the hospital to renew your memberships for 2008/09. Present memberships lapse on May 31, 08.

Date the cheques no later than May 30, 2008 and write Renewal of membership 08/09 on the memo line to secure a renewal of membership.

Cheques should be placed in a sealed envelope, attention CEO with return address clearly indicated.

The purpose of this action is to demonstrate clearly to the Minister of Health and the future Board the determination of our community to retain membership rights under the new hospital bylaws in accordance with the democratic principles and tradition of the Province of Ontario

Call your friends and share this message of concern.
Please inform your cell leader by email or by contacting him or her when you have completed this urgent task!

ACT TODAY!!!

May 21, 2008

Dr Smith, HDH Supervisor has a large notice in today's Free Press requesting applications for both the Community Based Nominating Group and Board Members for the proposed new general hospital. If his proposals for a merger are not approved by the Minister of Health, the new Board will govern the existing HDH. We will forward a copy later in case you have not seen it. The steering committee is very pleased about the transparency of the process and will communicate this to Dr. Smith.
Should you or someone you know wish to apply for these positions send a resume and cover letter to [email protected] by Friday,May 30, 2008

Elizabeth O'Connor, for the HDH Citizens' steering committee

May 9, 2008

Citizens for HDH Response to Dr. Smith’s Proposals

On behalf of the Citizens’ group, the steering committee thanks Dr. Smith for finding a creative solution to the hospital crisis at HDH. We are very pleased that our community hospital will remain secular, that there has been a change of administration and the North Simcoe Hospital Alliance will be consolidated into a new corporation which will operate from the existing sites.

We have two outstanding concerns: the mechanism by which future boards will be chosen and the disposition of any surplus monies from PGH.

On the first point the majority of the Citizens prefer that boards be elected by the corporation membership rather than appointed by a community selection committee. In our opinion this method is more in keeping with the Canadian democratic tradition and allows the community to fully participate in the governance of their hospital. We do not consider that corporation members will elect people who lack the requisite skills to run a complex institution. The by-laws of the new corporation should contain criteria for candidate nomination. We know that Dr. Smith will appoint the first board of the new hospital. Our concern is that the election of subsequent boards be entrenched in the by-laws.

On the second point we can only voice a preference since we are not privy to the financial situation at PGH. The funds in the alleged surplus are monies that were either assigned to the community for hospital care or resulted from local donations and fundraising. Should there be a surplus after fair settlement with the Grey Sisters, the Citizens feel strongly that this should be applied to pay down the debt at HDH. In this way donors and fundraisers will be reassured that their generosity and effort continue to enhance local hospital care. Such a move will allow the new corporation to start with a clean slate.

While the Citizens are aware that there are some concerns in the community about the transfer of the Mental Health Centre, it is not within our mandate to comment on this matter.

We wish also to extend our thanks to Brady Wood for his work on behalf of HDH and for his prompt and courteous response to our phone calls and emails.
Elizabeth O’Connor, for the Citizens for HDH

May 07, 2008

Citizens' Reaction to Dr. Smith's Proposals

While there has been an overwhelmingly positive response to Dr. Smith's proposals for a new merged community hospital, some members have voiced concerns. These can be divided into three categories, those which directly affect the governance of the new hospital, those which involve material assets and finally those connected with the transfer of the Mental Health Centre to Catholic governance.

As chair of the Citizen's group my position is that we should only address issues directly related to the governance and finances of the new hospital. We are not in a position to address the question of the transfer of the Mental Health Centre, the qualifications of its future board, the value of its real estate assets or the quality of care of its clients. Those with concerns can raise them directly with Dr. Smith or the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

The two issues which I will raise on behalf of the Citizens are that boards of the new corporation be elected rather than appointed and that the material assets of PGH be transferred to the new hospital.

We have known that Dr. Smith, on the advice of a community committee, will appoint the first board, to which he will hand back governance. The Citizens want future boards to be elected by corporation members.

If there is surplus cash at PGH, as we were led to believe during the summer, we would expect this to be transferred with the bricks and mortar to the new corporation. As Dr. Smith explained, this depends on how much equity is owned by the Grey Sisters. We are not privy to that information and can only express our wishes.

Because of your support over the past nine months this organization has met its goals of securing a secular community hospital. Should concerns arise in the future I’m confident that together we will rise to the challenge. In your name I will thank Dr. Smith and Brady Wood for their work on our behalf.

Elizabeth O’Connor
Chair, Citizens for Huronia District Hospital

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