Hi there! This is the Fall 1999 edition of Tone newsletter. This issue contains a variety of articles. The newsletter's page is planned to be updated regularly. So come back and see what's new.
There are eleven sections in this issue. You can go to the articles by "clicking" on the coloured "contents" text or using your browser's scroll bar. If you want to give us some feedback, or submit an article for "Tone" please click on the "contacts..." text. Our newsletter addresses are located there. You can also go back to the VCP home Page and locate our E-mail addresses. We hope you enjoy our site and come back often!
For those of you on CSIL or considering to go on CSIL, one common question is how to determine a fair wage for the attendants. There are a number of things to consider. The first one is the number of care hours you are allocated per day determines the block of funding you receive per month. Another criterion is approximately how many hours of care you actually receive per day and how many attendants are providing that care per day. A final thing to consider is having a sum of money to pay for such things as extra pay for attendants who accompany you to the doctor, to conferences, or on vacations, or to pay someone to be on-call for emergencies at night.
Everyone must realize that you cannot just divide the block of funding by 30 (the number of days per month) and come up with the pay per day. For one thing, there are payroll deductions such as Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Employment Insurance (EI),. Workers Compensation Board (WCB), and Holiday Pay all of which must come out of the block of funding. Even if you have taken the payroll deductions into account, you may not want to pay out the maximum you can per day. Speaking from personal experience I prefer to have some money in reserve to pay attendants who do extras. It's a great way both to reward attendants and to show my appreciation. For those of you who employ one attendant to cover a shift longer than twelve hours you will have to apply for an exemption. Otherwise you could end up owing a large amount of over time pay.
If you have any questions, please contact Yoshi Tanabe or I at 874-1741 or Paul Gauthier at 681-1434.
Announced By the Supreme Court of Canada,
that if will hear an appeal of Robert Latimer s conviction and life sentence
for the 1993 murder of his severely disabled daughter, Tracy. The Wilkie,
Sask. farmer admitted killing the 12-year-old by putting her in the cab
of his pickup truck and piping in deadly exhaust fumes, but maintains it
was a mercy killing. He did it out of love to end her suffering. The Court
will likely hear the case next winter.
Reprinted from the May 17, 1999 edition of Maclean s
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that children
Cannot sue their mothers for injuries suffered while in the womb. The case
revolved around New Brunswick's Ryan Dobson, 6, who is disabled as a result
of a Car accident his mother was involved in when she was pregnant.
'Editors Note. Ryan Dobson's Case was printed in detail in the April/May {sic} Issue of Tone. To summarize it His mother was involved in a car accident, and Ryan was subsequently born with Cerebral Palsy. The Court Case revolved around the question of whether a mother could be held responsible for injuries suffered by her "born alive" child due to her negligent behaviour while she was pregnant.
Reprinted from the July 19, 1999 edition of Maclean's
There is a fairly new medical procedure for people with CP that can lessen muscle stiffness. The procedure can last anywhere from five months to a year as long as daily stretching is done to keep the treated muscle group loose.
The treatment involves a series of Phenol injections. Phenol is an alcohol based solution which is injected right into the desired muscle group. While the injections are being given a small current is sent to the muscles to ensure that nerves are not injected. There could be long term pain if the needle hits a nerve. Even though there is some discomfort with this procedure the benefits are great. The only side effect is some pain around the needle sites for about three weeks.
The most important thing to keep in mind is the muscles must be stretched daily to keep them loose. I found the treatment a real help because I could keep my muscles loose without medication.
The treatment can be repeated if the muscle tone Increases. However, the muscle tone almost always is never worse than before the first treatment.
I do not know if all people who have this treatment
will have the same results I did, but I noticed a big improvement in my
life. Contact your doctor and he/she may be able to find out if this treatment
could help you.
The Vancouver/Richmond Health Board decided
last night to review its decision to close Vancouver's GF Strong Rehabilitation
Centre.
Earlier in the day, the board announced it planned to close the massive 100-bed facility near Oak Street and King Edward Avenue.
But after objections were raised by the Hospital Employees Union which represents about 250 workers at GF Strong - the board agreed to Consult with patients and workers before making a decision on the future of the world-renowned hospital
Reprinted from the July 23, 1999 edition of the Province
Health officials are looking at tearing down George Pearson extended care Centre within five years, raising concerns among many of its 130 severely disabled patients that they will suffer a lower standard of care.
One patient even compared the situation to the closing of Riverview mental hospital beds, saying he fears it could leave patients in community care facilities without the proper care they need to survive.
"We do not disagree that getting people into the community is a good thing, but the reality is that a lot of patients would not do that well out there and it could be like a Riverview all over again;" Andre Laliberte, a George Pearson patient council spokesman, said in reference to the number of mentally ill patients left living on the streets after Riverview, closed 198 beds over five years in the 1980s.
Laliberte, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gerig's disease, said Wednesday he lived on his own for three years and it "felt like I was in a prison" because he was so isolated and could not care for himself properly.
The Vancouver Richmond health board is considering a proposal to demolish the centre at 700 West 57th Ave., and build a specialized facility next to GF Strong rehabilitation centre to provide more centralized service and allow the two facilities to share equipment as well as the cafeteria and administration.
Health board chairman David Levi said under the proposal about 20 patients requiring a low level of care would be transferred to the community living facilities at their request, with others sent to the extended care ward at Vancouver General. Those with severe disabilities such as Laliberte who need constant help would likely be transferred to the new specialized facility next to the GF Strong centre.
But Laliberte fears fellow patients who opt for community care when the centre closes would not have the same access to nurses and specialists as they do now and will find it hard to adapt.
"The George Pearson site has beautiful grounds and it is like a home here," Laliberte said. "If there is any movement from here the residents would not feel as comfortable. And for the ill it is important that you have consistency. Many people are quite disabled and any kind of change would be drastic for them. "
Levi disputed fears the George Pearson patients would not get the help they need, saying the existing staff will go with them and there are no plans to close any of the 2390 beds in the next five years. He added about 20 patients have asked to receive community care if possible. Although the region is still discussing how the care would be provided, he said there will not be any reduction in service.
If anything, he said, all the patients at George Pearson will receive better care if the proposal is accepted.
"All we are saying is we should look at whether we can provide these services better," Levi said. "The building we would create would be specialized to handle issues and services we need. People have to understand this is an enhancement over the services they have now."
The proposal put forward by Vancouver General Hospital, will go to the public next month for input before the board votes on it in July.
Levi said if approved, the board has about three or four years to prepare for the changes, which hinge on the opening of the new hospital tower at VGH to free up some beds.
He said the region may also look at other options for the existing George Pearson site, such as more extended health care facilities.
Murray Martin, president of the Vancouver General Hospital and Health Sciences Centre, said the George Pearson Centre, which was built during the war years, was in line for a major reconstruction in the next few years anyway.
He added about a third of the 130 patients have elected to move into community care over the next few years, which again forced administrators to debate the centre's future.
"All that is being said right now is that we should look at the long-term feasibility of the centre" Martin said "One option is closing it down, but there has been no decision taken yet on which direction we should go.”
The proposal to close down George Pearson is part of the health region's five-year plan to make health care more efficient in the region. The health region is also looking at a proposal to eventually tear dawn the emergency and acute-care wing at St Vincent's Hospital, an aging facility that is not earthquake sound, and transfer the programs to Mount St Joseph Hospital to provide more centralized services and better use of equipment.
Levi said one option is to build a new facility on the St. Vincent's site to perhaps provide day surgery
The hospital closures are among several improvements proposed by the hospitals included in an Option to Action report, which began in 1997 to strike a balance between the hospital and the community.
Health officials plan to spend $11 million over the next year on home care, community facilities and nurses to help get patients out of the hospital and back home sooner.
The region is expected to announce several new Community services and facilities, including a 40-bed transitional centre for people in the stage between hospital and home, in the next few months. The changes, including the new tower and the reconstructing of services, are expected to save the hospital $15 million, which will go back into the hospital.
Reprinted from the May 21, 1999 edition of the Vancouver Sun
Moving out will be a whole new way of life for me. If will be quite an experience for me to have my own place. The system for getting money for my home is just too hard. It was really hard to give up my apartment at Millennium House. (Note She had to give up her apartment because she could not receive enough care hours ) I never had an apartment of my own My mom is happy because she doesn't want me to move out of Pearson, but I do. If the government would only understand how people feel about having their own place it would help a lot, but they don't want to understand If it was the government shutting down their own offices then they would know how we feel Maybe they would make more homes available to us. I just don't know what to do any more
If I fill out another application and there is another opening, I'll take it, but I don't want to move out of Vancouver. There's one opening in Steveston next year. I don't want to move all the way out there, but I told them I would take it However, if there is one Closer I'd be happier. Millennium House was just right If there was one opening up in Burnaby I would take it. But if one will open up in Vancouver, it would be better because my job is in Vancouver. I wouldn't want to go back to the Okanagan as I don't know anyone back there but my family But if the time comes that I get too old I will have to remain at Pearson. I would like to move out this year, if I Can When I got my job I had to wait a month to find out if I got it. I hope I can find another house to move into and I hope that I will find a house soon. After 44 years of hospital life, I would like something of my own that I can call home
I am looking forward to it and I hope I get it soon It will be a hard move, but I am looking forward to the Challenge of living on my own - buying furniture and food and fixing up the apartment the way I want to. It will be a challenge and reward, I hope. It will be something new to pay rent, telephone and all the bills I will have on time I have to hire my own attendant; look after her salary and make sure I don't overspend It's about time I got away from hospital life and made a new one for myself But if I don't move I will be very disappointed.
Going out on my own the first time will not be the same as moving into a hospital, there's not so many people around and you're more responsible for yourself. You decide when you get up in the morning and go to bed at night. Everything I do and say will come from my decisions It will be a hard move, but a fun move, I hope. It will be just like my first job and I will have to have a schedule so I know what I am doing
It takes along time to get out on my own and find out how the other half lives. It will be worth it, but it's a 'long process that includes lots of meetings with all the discharge team involved. All the preparation in the world will help me with whatever lies ahead, with whatever I will face outside the hospital. I never wanted anything more than to move into my own place. All the meetings I have been to have prepared me to move into the community. It won't be a sheltered life My life will change dramatically. I will have to take more responsibility for my actions as I make a whole new life for myself I will have to grow up and learn to stand on my own two feet.
**Editor's Note: Joanne is a long term resident of Pearson Hospital. Joanne has wanted to leave Pearson for quite some time, and the proposal to close Pearson has only strengthened her resolve. A number of people are involved with assisting Joanne achieve her goal. However, the process is slow and frustrating.
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