THE HERALD, Wednesday, February”2, 1977, PAGE AS

Changes in

emergen cy health services .

Health Minister Bob
McClelland has announced
_major changes to the
province's emergence
ealth services, ‘which will
improve the program and be
of particular benefit to
residents of outlying
communities and those’
living in remote areas of
British Columbia". The
changes include improved
air ambulance service,
restored patient escort
service and an extended
ambulance crew training
program. A revised fee
.Schedule will come into
effect February 1. —

In: making the an-
neuncement McClelland
said that the charges to
patients requiring transport

y road or air ambulance,
from remote areas to major.
treatment centres, will be
substantially reduced. The
minister said that under the
revised fee schedule the
maximum that any patient.
in B.C. will pay for long
distance ambulance szrvice
approved by the Emergency
Health Services Com-
mission will be $100, Under
the previous schedule fees
have been as high as $500 for

air ambulance transport.

The basic charge for an
ambulance call will be $15
for distances up to 40
kilometres (25 miles). For
distances over 25 miles the
_ Charge will be 13 cents per
kilometre (20c per mile) toa
. maximum of $100."

Mr. McClelland added
that the Emergency Health
Services Commission will
arrange for the provision of
nursing, or other qualified
escort service,’ to ac-
company patients when
necessary. ‘There will be no
charge to the patient” the
minister said, ‘‘for the
provision of escort service
authorized by the com-
mission”,

. Explaining the changes,
Minister of Health Bob
McClelland says: “I think

* Student and native ©

McClelland, ‘‘and to

this approach to the cost and
efficiency of ambulance
sevice is long overdue in a

‘ovince such as ours.. We

ve been charging people
$5 for an ambulance trip by
road regardless of the

distance. Yet air ambulance.

flights have been fully paid
for by the patient. As a
result, in some cases we
have been using road

-transport between hospitals

when air transport would
actually have been more
economical and probabl
less tiring .to the patient.
Also, we’re had a lot of input
about the sed for nurse
escorts for ¢ ertain patients

“and we have accepted that
e .

this service should
provided without extra
charge where the physician

or the authority concerned

agrees it is necessary.”
The Health Minister gives

this example of savings to-

patients living in the more
remote areas. A stretcher
patient being flown .from
Fort St, John to Vancouver
now has to pay almost $450
in air fare alone, based on
the cost of four seats for the
stretcher itself, plus one
seat for the escort, and an
additional seat for the escort
to return to Fort St. John.
The fee for the person acting
as escort would be an extra

$80 to $100, including
overnight accommodation

for that person in Van-
couver, This adds up to a
total of around $500, which
that patient has had to find,
Under the new scale of

charges, the $100 maximum °

will apply.

Two further examples of
current air ambulance
transport costs, with the
new reduced cost to the
patient shown in brackets
are: Prince George -
Vancouver! $456 ($80.55);
Prince Rupert - Vancouver:
$488 ($100). ‘

“We are making these
changes to improve service
to the public”, says Mr.

“ata in:

even

out the cost to the user, The
increase in the basic am-
bulance charge from $5 to
$15 is the fairest way to pay

for the better service, the |

reinstatement of escort
coverage and im-
provements in equipment
and training.

“At present, patients in
isolated areas of B.C. are
bearing all of the costs of air
transport, They are rightly
complaining of
discrimination because of
their geographical location.
On the other hand, we have
found that in the large urban
areas it is cheaper to call a
$5 ambulance than to take a.
taxi, even where a taxi
would have been suitable to
‘transport a patient”.

Transfers of patients from
one institution to another,
which were formerly done
without charge, will ‘be
subject to the basic fee of $15
for distances up to 40
kilometres (25 miies) with
the extra charge beyond.

A provincial dispatch .
office has been established ;
at Victoria to coordinate and:

arrange all long distance

patient moves within the 7

province, whether by air or
road ambulance, Decisions
as to the’ most suitable

‘means of transport will be.

made by the patient’s

physician in consultation

with the provincial dispatch
centre.

They will operate in
cooperation with the
existing Rescue Coor-
dination centre which will
continue to be involved in
emergency, mercy flights.

“Considering the great
improvement in ambulance
service, we think the in-
ereased charges are
reasonable,”’ says Mr.

McClelland. ‘‘They compare.

‘favourably with charges in
other provinces, especially
considering the distances
and geography we have to
contend with in British
Columbia.” ~ - -

“. employment program —

, The Department of the
Secretary of State has an-
nounced that it will again
administer ..a summer
student and native youth
employment program in
1977. Now in its fourth year,
the “Student Community
Services Program is
designed to assist citizen’s
organizations improve the
quality of life in their
communities.

imagination of youth into
projects supported by

voluntary associations, the’

department also feels the
program will encourage
more. effective citizens’
participation in their
* communities. ;
To participate in. the
program, organizations
should apply to their local
office of the Secretary of
State for project funds to
hire students. Organizations
considering application
must be. willing to fully
sponsor and supervise their
project. -The department
will give priority to projects
which;

psoas

tt BateY,

=e!

; By chan-
. nelling ‘the energy and

- provide support for
women’s, native, fran-
cophone and ethnic groups;

- increase cooperation and
understanding between

_ Canadians of all races and

ethnic groups;

- assist associations

_ operating in rural Canada to

improve the quality of their
commiunity lite;
- Support national unity;
» stress crime prevention

and rehabilitation. |

Interested organizations
should contact. the nearest

office of the Department of
the Secretary of State before
the deadline for ap-
plications, set at February
16,1977. , .. ‘

' The department has
offices in. Vancouver (732-
4111), Victoria (388-3928),
Kelowna (763-8487) and

Prince George (564-2311). -

Pie Saal

"WINNERS OF THE “B’

aR

EVENT receive their

Ni . Ken Blanes (Lead), Norm Goodlad (Second), Fred
: trophies from Dave Simons. They, are, left to right, McRae (Third) and Gord Duplisse (Skip).

“Does Canada wish to’be American”

_ “The real question facing

‘Canada today,” according .

to John Bulloch, -President
of the 40,000 member
Canadian Federation of
Independent Business, "is
not whether French Canada
wishes to be independent,
but whether English Canada
wishes to be American.”

Speaking to the Ad--

vyertising and Sales Club of |
Toronto at the Royal York

- Hotel, Bulloch predicted

“The inevitable fate for
Canada without .Quebec
would be resource supplier
to the United States, unable
toinfluence U.S. policies but
equally unable to create a
distinct society of its own.”

Bulloch called for the
implimentation of a “Let’s
Build Canada’’ policy,
which, he described as ‘‘a
positive program of social
and economic change...to

_ stress neighbourhood and —

community values. :The

‘ separatist. victory,” he’.
eontinued,’ “should “Be ’
‘welcomed as the catalyst for
putting .

our ‘national
economic house in order.”
Quebec, like the other
rovinces, is suffering from
igness; Bulloch noted.
First the Church and, more

recently, large corporations ©

and the bureaucracies of

Montreal and Quebec City —

have dominated Quebec .
society. ‘‘Community
values, which traditionally ,
have been at the heart of the
French Canadian lifestyle,

‘have been eroded by

grandiose government

schemes such as Mirabel

635-3929

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_ . 635-3929
Kilby Rd. New Remo

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Horm Mantel - Proprietor
- Tony Macedo- formerly of L & D Motors

Quality Work *

Kilby Rd.

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Airport, James Bay and the
Olympic Games.” .
But, Bulloch, arguing that
we would all be better off in
a more decentralized
society, contends that the
problems of bigness are not
confined to Quebec. “Big
institutions and big cities
have become our modern
dinosaurs, too large for their
environment and helpless in
the face of changing con-
‘ditions.”’ They will- become

increasingly obsolete over |

the next 20 years.

Big, centralized
‘manufacturers: rely on
cheap transportation to get
their products into: outlying
regions. But increasingly
costly and scarce fossil fuels
is bringing cheap tran-
sportation to an end. By
1985, Canada will also face a
severe labour shortage and
most forms of protection
designed to save jobs in
standardized manufac-

turing will be lifted. “Our

textile industry, currently
reeling from a series of body
blows from Asian:
producers, represents only
the tip of the iceberg.”
Other threatened industries
include footwear, women’s
accessories, television and
bicycles. | .
Canada should become
world experts in small scale
enterprises, a natural
direction for a country with

alarge geography and small —

population, according to
John Bulloch. ‘Canada is a
microcosm of the world. We.
can specialize at the same

time in the kinds of |

‘large-scale

smallness appropriate to
highi:
and the quite different kinds
of smallness appropriate to
‘developing nations.”
Decisions being made at
this minute, Bulloch noted,
will affect our way of life for
decades to come. We still
have a choice between the
centralizing
technology represented by
nuclear power of the small-

advanced societies .

scale flexibility of solar
power. ‘'The installation
and servicing of these solar
power systems would
provide work for tens of

thousands of small firms.”

Smaliness can effectivel
replace bigness, Bulloc
concluded. As proof, he
pointed out the absence of
dinosaurs in the anima
world. :

Sylvia Tyson
tickets .
available

Cor
°

Two hundred tickets tothe —

Sylvia Tyson Concert are
still available and will be
sold at the door Saturday,
February 5 at the R.E.M.
Lee Theatre, The concert
Starts at 8:15 p.m.

Sylvia Tysons a seasoned
folk and country music
artist who formerly sang
with her husband Ian. She is
now making solo concert
appearances throughout
Canada.

Svea Thompson, Secretary,
Public Advisory Committee to Forestry,

How do you feel
about the future
of the Seven Sisters?

Enough to let us know?

. .Logging is scheduled to commence this year, in the form of

five near rectangles totalling 1200 clear cut acres on the north

slope af the Seven Sisters Mountains. These will be partially

visible from Highway 16 at Cedarvale, and extensively so

from across.the Skeena River along.the Cedarvate-Kitwanga.
Road, and from the CNR tine.

The B.C. Forest Service has sanctioned the recent for-

mation of a Public Advisory Committee to provide all of us

the opportunity to convey public apinion to the forestry
management of our own greater area, Many residents and
certain politicians have expressed the wish that logging not
be permitted on these scenfe slopes, or if necessary, that such
an operation be carried out so as not to despoil the view of
this natural landmark, or fo alter the existing watershed
which may jecpardize lacal residents.

The Forest Service will listen if there are voices to speak.
Please consider this opportunity to be heard, and fo help
determine the quality of our own enviranment. Concerned
individuals, graups, clubs, and organizations are hereby
encouraged to express thelr opinions, in writing, where they
wiil be directed to the forestry, before spring. Please write:

Cedarvale, B.C. V0J 1G0.

TALK
TO US...

BUSINESS HOURS:
9:00-5:30 Man - Thurs
9:00-9:00 Fri.
9:00-5:30 Sat.

201-4630 Lazelle Ave.
TERRACE, B.C.

above
_Canada Manpower

635-6371

INSURANGE|”
|aSe AGENCY]:
497 fy :

Because we believe an essential
purpose of education is to ensure
that our students acquire the skills
and knowledge they will need.to
become well-rounded individuals
‘and useful members. of society, a
_ Core Curriculum will be intro-
duced into the public. school
system in September 1977. :
To explainthe Core Curriculum,we |
have produced a new and easy-to-
follow booklet. We call it Goals

WHAT SHOULD
OUR STUDENTS»
BE LEARNING? _

school district in the province.
Public meetings to discuss the
goals of the core curriculum -
are being organized by school
officials in your area.
You are urged to attend these
meetings and discuss the con-
tents of the booklet and what it
means for our students. To find |
out the time and location of the |
meeting nearest you, or to
obtain your free copy of the -

booklet, contact your local “
school or your school district super-
intendent as listed below:

School District 88 - 635-4931

We've done our homework. Now it’s your tur to have a
a say in what, and how, our children should be learning. re

of the Core Curriculum and we
; think it’s an important document. We'd
like to know what you think of it.
Copies have been delivered'to every

orate
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION | 7
Government of British Columbia,
Victoria, B.C. . on Mi

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