Sackville mayoralty candidate Shawn Mesheau. Photo: Mesheau campaign
Sackville councillor Shawn Mesheau says that if he’s elected mayor in the municipal elections on May 10th, he’ll work to establish a local hospital committee to act as a voice for the Tantramar region’s health care needs.
“It would be a group that would do annual reviews of the services and the effectiveness of the services for the area that are available at the hospital,” Mesheau said today in a telephone interview.
He added that the committee could be made up of various groups including older people, other community members and health-care professionals who would work closely with existing organizations such as the hospital auxiliary and foundation.
“The way I look at this is if the province is hesitant in going back to more localized [health] boards across the province, then maybe what’s happening here in Tantramar-Memramcook and Sackville becomes a pilot,” Mesheau said.
He added that the biggest hurdle would be getting the Horizon Health Network to recognize the committee as being a voice for the region.
Communities forced to react
Mesheau’s proposal for a local hospital committee is included in a news release he issued yesterday as part of his mayoralty campaign.
He says he’s encouraged that Premier Higgs has promised 24-hour hospital emergency room services will be maintained, but feels that under the present system, local communities are always being forced to react when the Horizon Health Network and the provincial government announce changes.
He adds that a regional hospital committee could work with the centralized authorities on behalf of local needs.
“It’s got to start here and we have to have that connection, we have to have the connection through to the Health Authority and the minister of health,” he says, “to ensure that the message is delivered that here’s what we’re doing, here’s where we need to go.”
Mesheau emphasized that while he would work as Sackville’s mayor to establish a local hospital committee, it would include representatives from other communities such as Cape Tormentine, Port Elgin, Memramcook and Dorchester.
He says he learned first-hand about the needs in some of those communities in one of the break-out sessions during the online health-care consultation held last Thursday.
“Transportation became an issue because of folks being able to access health care within their own community, but when they can’t access those specialized services, how do they get from point A to point B,” he adds.
Cancer survivor
Mesheau’s news release praises health professionals after his own brush with kidney cancer about 10 years ago.
“It’s a little emotional for me,” he said today when he was asked what he learned from the experience.
“My specialist was A-1, the staff were supportive, I’d never gone through major surgery before in my life and it was quite an ordeal, but what I learned is that we’re pretty fortunate in our town and in our province to have the health care that we have.”
Mesheau says his doctor discovered a tumour while treating him for kidney stones.
He was able to meet with his specialist at the Sackville hospital where he also received X-rays and blood tests.
He underwent a four-hour operation to remove the tumour in the Moncton Hospital, then spent about four days there recovering.
“Health care was there when I needed it,” Mesheau says.
“People say that kidney stones are very painful, but in this case, it might have saved my life.”
Thanks Bruce… always an illuminating read!
I checked out the Indie Media East Coast Canada site – just what we need, another ultra right wing blog that spreads hate speech, lies and propaganda. Example : ridiculing people who care enough about their fellow citizens to wear masks during this pandemic.
Les Hicks needs to learn to debate ideas rather than throwing around insults online. Thanks again Bruce. I promote your website at my site – and I hope that others understand how helpful your work is to the locals in a region that has been captured by technocrats. If you want your hospital you will have to fight very hard to keep it — hospitals are under a centralized health authority now and they seem to be heavy with administrators who make a lot of money. Our governments appear to prefer enriching testing technology in 2021…Luminultra is certainly making a lot of money…check out their website: https://www.luminultra.com/ .. perhaps the covid19 hysteria will tone down some after a year of non-stop media and only 30 deaths in a population of 777,000 in New Brunswick. I’m asking why it is still referred to as a ” pandemic ” … it’s an honest question.
From the tone of your comment, I presume this must be Sally (it’s hard to keep track of all of your aliases). If it is Sally, then I must say that you are yet again using self-projection regarding your insult remark. On your indiemediaeastcoastcanada blog, people who follow the advice of the public health officials are called stupid, and compared to pedophiles. You further talk about silly men wearing masks and state that you can’t support their stupidity. I see that I also get a mention, albeit as ‘Little Les’, as a ‘useful idiot’. Considering the source of this insult, I consider it an honour.
Regarding your comment acknowledging the importance of our local hospital, I am glad to see that you have changed your opinion since your previous comment in January where you insulted Pat Estabrooks and complained about her prioritizing our hospital and hospital foundation over a skate park.
Regarding your honest question of why this is still being called a pandemic considering the low number of cases and deaths in New Brunswick, have you considered the idea that these low numbers are precisely the result of the strict protocols (social distancing, and dare I say, masking) being imposed by our public health officials, and followed by the majority of citizens who accept the current scientific and medical advice, which is constantly changing as more and more knowledge is gained about the various aspects of this virus and it’s mutations (that’s the way the scientific process works). According to the latest WHO stats to date, there have been 188,750,00 Covid 19 cases and 2,634,000 deaths globally. Comparing countries that have taken different approaches to the pandemic, the USA, under the lack of leadership of Donald Trump, who continually downplayed the seriousness of it and like you ridiculed people for wearing masks, to date has had 29,400,000 cases and 163.31 deaths/100,000 population. Canada, which has taken the danger much more seriously and initiated important public health measures, has 911,800 cases and 60.51 deaths/100,000 population (approximately 37% that of the American deaths/100,000). If you would like another example, consider some of the Nordic countries. Sweden, which took an approach more like that of the USA’s, has a total of 712,500 cases and 129.10 deaths/100,000. Other Nordic countries like Denmark, Finland, and Norway took a much more serious approach to the pandemic, resulting in Denmark having 220,600 cases and 41.24 deaths/100,000, Finland having 66,000 and 14.24 deaths/100,000, and Norway having 79,800 cases and 12.02 deaths/100,000 (all 3 are much lower than Sweden’s – Norway being the best at 9% of Sweden’s deaths/100,000). Note that their numbers are even better than Canada’s, but Canada’s deaths/100,000 are still only 47% of what Sweden’s are.
Those are the facts (or as Joe Friday used to say, “just the facts, ma’am, just the facts”). I hope this answers your honest question, and although I highly doubt these FACTS will change your mind regarding the wearing of masks, they will hopefully lead others who read your Wark Times comments and your multiple blogs to question all of the misinformation that you present.