Recently, the pages of The Equity have featured announcements aimed at improving healthcare in the region.
As many people remember, healthcare in the Pontiac became a hot button issue in December of 2016 when the Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO) decided to charge patients at the Shawville Hospital to park on the property.
Within days of the announcement, a Facebook group called Pontiac Voice popped up and before anyone knew it, the group had more than 3,000 members.
Those at the forefront of the Pontiac Voice movement put pressure on government organizations, reached out to the press and attended public meetings to voice their concerns.
Even a cynic would be impressed with what the many local efforts have been able to accomplish in just over a year.
After facing mounting criticism and public backlash, CISSSO has appeared to have quietly dropped its plan to charge patients to park at the Shawville Hospital.
Although staff members still have to pay for parking (which is still a sticking point for those with Pontiac Voice), the fact that the public won’t be paying for parking should be seen as a victory.
Another one of the group’s demands was to have someone from the Pontiac serve on the CISSSO board of directors. After initially being rebuffed, CISSSO has solicited a candidate from the Pontiac, and Pontiac Voice member and former Pontiac MNA Charlotte L’Écuyer has thrown her hat in the ring.
We’re also told that the dialysis unit at the Shawville Hospital should be up and running by the end of the summer.
On top of that, a recent announcement revealed that the Shawville Hospital endoscopy unit will get $900,000 for an upgrade by the end of the year.
Just over a year ago the healthcare picture in the Pontiac looked bleak.
But a group of concerned citizens mobilized, made their voices heard and got the attention of those at the top who make the decisions.
The newly-amalgamated healthcare system in the province is still in its infancy, so it’s unreasonable to expect that it would be operating at 100 per cent efficiency in such short order.
But there were clearly issues from the get-go.
And instead of sitting on their hands, these citizens piped up and got their hands dirty.
As a result, the entire region will benefit from the hard work they’ve done.
As the saying goes: “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
Chris Lowrey
