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BROCKVILLE CUPEs Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) and health care workers from St. Vincent de Paul Hospital in Brockville, together with representatives of the St. Vincents community, will launch the St. Vincents Patients Deserve Better campaign at a news conference on Thursday, August 23rd, at 1:00 p.m., at the Super 8 Motel, 7789 Kent Boulevard, in Brockville.

With funding well below the provincial average, weve had layoffs and already overworked health care workers have been stretched beyond any reasonable limit, says Nancy Holmes, President of CUPE Local 2491. Our patients deserve the same funding as patients in other chronic care facilities.

Beds at St. Vincent are funded at about $179 per day, almost $100 per day less than funding for new chronic care beds. This community raised funds for St. Vincents in the past, says Holmes. Millions of dollars were raised to maintain St. Vincents and secure future care for Brockville residents now instead of investing that money the government wants to downgrade St. Vincents from a chronic care facility to a long-term care facility with roughly half the funding.

The workload survey we released in February showed clearly that staff were already spread too thin, says CUPE Researcher Doug Allan, commenting on the report Workload and Patient Care: Crisis in Chronic Care, released in February. This is not a second class community if the government could spare facilities in Hamilton and Toronto, whats wrong with Brockville? Earlier this year the Ontario government overturned its decision to reduce funding for three facilities in Toronto (Riverdale Hospital, Salvation Army Grace and Runnymede) and one in Hamilton (St. Peters Hospital), bowing to public pressure.

WHO:
  • Nancy Holmes, President of CUPE Local 2491
  • Lorna McDonnell, RPN, V.P. CUPE Local 2491
  • Doug Allan, CUPE Research Representative
  • St. Vincent patient community representatives

WHAT:
Launch St. Vincents Patients Deserve Better campaign
News Conference to launch community-based campaign

WHEN:
Thursday, August 23, at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Super 8 Motel
7789 Kent Blvd., Brockville

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For further information, please contact:
Nancy Holmes, CUPE 2491 President
(613) 345-2288
Doug Allan, CUPE Research
(416) 292-3999 - (416) 526-4497 (cell)
Robert Lamoureux, CUPE Communications
(416) 292-3999

OPEIU 491/gpb