TORONTO and RAINY RIVER and THUNDER BAY and EMO, Ontario, Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hospital, EMS, and primary care services are at risk in northwestern Ontario due to a funding dispute between the physicians and the Ford government and the worst staffing crisis the province has ever seen. All the permanent, full-time physicians are departing Rainy River’s hospital and primary care clinic due to a funding dispute with the Ministry of Health. While the hospital has secured temporary locum physicians, it is only a short-term fix as the funding for them terminates at the end of November (locum physicians are brought in by towns to provide coverage). In Emo, ambulance services were shut down in mid-August due to critical staffing shortages. The Mayor of Rainy River and the president of their paramedics’ union will join the Health Coalition at a press conference regarding the crisis that has unfolded in their communities.
When: Friday, September 13, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. CDT (Emo, Rainy River) / 10:30 a.m. EDT (Thunder Bay, Toronto)
Where: via Zoom. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qf-iupz0tEtdDbT1W0BYHB-Xpyz8y3Tq8
Speakers: Mayor of Rainy River (Deborah Ewald), President of CUPE Local 4807 (Malcolm Daley), executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition (Natalie Mehra), co-chair of the Thunder Bay Health Coalition (Jules Tupker)
For more information: Natalie Mehra, executive director (416) 230-6402, natalie@ontariohc.ca and Salah Shadir, operations director (647) 648-5706, salah@ontariohc.ca
