_ Hospital says too

Mills Memorial Hospital has

experienced a significant in- ©

crease in the number of visits to
‘its emergenéy department since

1986. .The reason for this
phenomenon is quite simple. On
April Ist, 1986, the Ministry of

Health ordered hospitals to
remove the $10'emergency visit
fee. - _

Almost immediately,
~ hospitals across the province felt
increasing deniands, pressures
and expectations placed on their
emergency departments. In the
instance of Mills Memorial
Hospital, this translated into a
42 percent increase, with usage
still on the rise. Many hospitals
in the province have separate
departments for outpatient ser-
vices (eg: removal of stitches)
and emergency services, but
Mills combines the two in its
emergency department.

Since the removal of the $10
fee, many older patients who
didn’t want to abuse the hospital
service or the doctors have
become more inclined to use the
emergency services and avoid
the hassles of a visit to a doctor’s
office. Patients previously
unable to pay the emergency
visit fee are now finding it a
viable action to take.

. Since 1986, hospital admis-
sions rose only six percent and
totat number of patient days

‘decreased by 12 percent. This is -

'generally indicative of increased
efficiency and better bed utiliza-

tion. The gains on the inpatient
“side have, however, been eroded.
by the increased emergency
usage. In these days of tight
budgets and underfunding, any
increased cost pressure has a
negative effect hospital-wide.
Mills Memorial Director of
Patient Services. Shirley Bentley
reports that Mills Memorial
Hospital has been incredibly
busy over this Christmas season,
largely due to flu-related symp-
toms. Emergency visits were
‘more than double that of
previous years for the same time
period. The problem was com-
pounded by short-staffing at the
hospital over the holdiays.
Bentley realizes that often a

patient and hospital staff have a

different view of what con-
stitutes’ an emergency. She
stresses that parents with
children who have a sore throat
or a bad cough are not being
discouraged from using the
emergency services. But patients
who have an ailment that can be
safely dealt with at the doctor’s

office during regular working

hours are encouraged not to use
the emergency room as an alter-
native to the regular medical ser-

~ vice,

The Terrace Health Care
Society Board of Trustees has
requested that the residents of
Terrace evaluate their usage of
the emergency department at
- Mills -Memorial. Hospital and
ask that they restrict their usage
to true emergencies.

It was a late night the Saturday before Christmas for the Terrace Co-op shopping center,
with management deciding to hold a special ‘‘we-don’t-open-on-Sunday” sale. Late shop-
ping paid off the Cheryl Wyatt (center), who won $1,000 at the event. The prize was pre-
.sented by Co-op board president Pat Sheichuk and Co-op general manager Lawrence

Gosselin.

Innocent UNI] PFOVEN — continued trom page 15

plaint, the RCMP charged her
husband with sexaul assault and
he was photographed and
_fingerprinted. The resulting ten-
sion was like nothing they had
_experienced in the previous
decade of dealing with Brenda.
It took eight months for the case
to go to trial and during that
time their only support came
from family and close friends.
In stating her husband’s position
during that eight months, she ex-
plains that every day he faced
the realization that he could go
to jail. He could lose his profes-
sional license and the family
home. Adding to this tension,
she says, Carol, the one girl with
whom they had formed a lasting
bond, was told by social workers.
not to talk to them. -_

A little over a month ago, he
was found not guilty. ‘‘It took
the jury less than a half hour to
decide their verdict,’’ she says,
‘tand after the trial several
members of the jury told us and
some friends of ours that they
_ felt it should never have gone to
trial.’’ She explains: “‘It was ob-
vious to all that Brenda -was ly-
ing. That she did this because
she was mad at me for taking
Carol to supper and she wanted
to undermine our relationship.”
~ But the jury’s decision didn’t
bring an end to the suffering.
‘“We now have a lawyer’s bill of
$12,000 or more to pay,” she.
‘says. And as for the accuser:
“Brenda walks away from all of

this with no punishment except

for having to live with herself,’’
says the mother. ‘‘We can’t sue
Brenda and Social Services for
malicious mischief without more
money and more trouble.’’

All they really want now is to
put the past behind them and get
on with their lives. But it may
not be easy to forget. ‘‘I’m going
to try to get together with Carol
again,” she says, “‘but after
eight months of negative feeling
toward us it may be lost forever.
What an emotional price to have
to pay for one girl’s lie.’” Bren-
da’s older brother was also
drawn into the fray; he testified
on behalf of the father. This,
however, had an opposite effect.
“Our relationship with Allan is
stronger,’’ says his foster

‘mother.

There may also be another
positive aspect to this family’s
suffering: the opportunity
presented here for the mother of
a family who has suffered the
trauma of false accusations to
speak out, And in retrospect,
she asks questions that need to
be answered.

Before charges were laid, why
wasn’t the credibility of the
complainant questioned?

Why wasn’t the credibility of
the father investigated? ‘‘At the.
preliminary hearing, only the
complainant’s side of the story
is heard,’’ she explains.
“Shouldn’t the accused have the
right to defend himself before
the judge? But even before that,

she says, ““There needs to. be a
more thorough investigation
from social workers and police
before these cases are brought to
trial.” |

There is a need for good foster
homes, she maintains, ‘‘But if
they want foster parents they
should be as protective of their
rights in these allegations as they
are of the children. After eight
and-a half years of fostering,
five with Carol, we certainly feel
bitter that more wasn’t done to
investigate our side of the
story,”’

But the bottom line, she says
is that if the system doesn’t
change, the kids that need help
the most are the ones who will
suffer. ‘‘People are afraid to
help kids in trouble... afraid to
comfort them if they are hurt.
Teachers are afraid...’’ What’s
needed, she concludes, is some
support for adults who work
with children. “We all know
there are plenty of legitimate
cases of sexual abuse,’’ she ex-
plains, ‘But there are plenty of
kids, most from dysfunctional
homes, that allege malicious,
false charges. I think if an
allegation is made for revenge,
Social Services is morally bound

“to help pay the costs.”

‘‘We were lucky to have
friends and family who helped
us financially and emotionally
so we were able.to get an ex-
cellent lawyer,”’ she says. “But
what happens to someone who
has no support and is falsely ac-
cused?’’ .

Terrace

Interiors Ltd.

Exterior and interior paints
Armstrong flooring ¢ Harding carpets

Sunworthy wallpaper
“All the supplies you need’’ .
4610 Lazelle Ave.
THIS WEEKS
: PUZZLE ANSWER
ACROSS sjdjaje Elli Py Uncoln
_1__ Raton SIME). EK 7 New York, init.
5 Hurried S E | Wet 3 y/OA}S d kd 8 Walkways
8 Heathen S/H/O/H LISININS RAN] ijd| 9 Head
9 Young'un dalVi De Slsiongg Lviv 10 Forfelture
10 Purvay > SISILLIBOIN vlad 11 Typeof rock
11 Wisdom 12 Together
Sla/3iti si liNivig
12 Pronoun HISI¥iM MM Sldl (MSIL 13 Summer, Fr.
14 Else L Pa) H 15 Oasis, N. Africa
16 Drunk AILIORESIN VAR HIS! 16 waste
17 Pronoun 2) RATS] 1M) a) SIHILIO} 19 wagon
18 Sweetpolatoses jSIMR SSO SS| LIV] 21 Rave.
19 Shelter AOIVi GEN ViSl Vida 22 Decide again
20 Telly Savalas, Inil. NIVIH wixiold 23 Farm bullding
21 Gobycar 24 Hardy heroine
22 Headstrong 37 Stories 25 Settled
23 Handralis 38 Dam 27 Pastries
25 Twinge 30 Elijah 28 Anthropoids
26 Try 40 Exists 29 WorkProgress
27 Gaictum, symbol 41 Cincinnati ___ Adm. init.
28 Protuberance 30 Temp!
30 Mislay DOWN 31 Drinks
31 Beanle 1 Wash 3 Cartain
32 Clasp 2 Molding 34 Assault
33 Hot weather ailment 3 Toting 35 Vehicle
45 Paldnotice 4 Article 38 MarkAntony, init.
36 Remedy 5 Unusual 39 Teut.wargod
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 $s ..
10 "1 2 993
te 15 16
1? 18 19
20 21 22

23

2a

Kh

38

vv