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Health Care Petition

Help us make our town a healthier place to live by adding your name to our petition.

To contribute; simply leave a comment on the letter below with your name and your town in the comments field.

Note: Submissions may take up to 24 hours to appear

Genia Leskiw
MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake
Box 5160
Bonnyville, AB
T9N 1B6

Dear Mrs. Leskiw:

We the undersigned express our concern about the ability of the fine employees of the Cold Lake Hospital to be able to provide the kind of care our citizens deserve.

Though, the health care employees do the best job they can with the resources they have, there needs to be a change in the way things operate in Cold Lake. There is a significant lack of doctors and support staff at the hospital which causes long wait times and even diverting of patients to other health care facilities. About 50 percent of Cold Lake residents coming into the Emergency Department don’t have a family physician and a majority of the cases on a daily basis aren’t an emergency. Since there isn’t a walk-in clinic in Cold Lake, residents are forced to go to the Emergency Department for the simplest of things such as prescription refills. There is a serious crisis here in Cold Lake not only for the people but for the health care workers as well. If the situation doesn’t improve soon, we fear we will lose the few health care professionals we have because they simply cannot handle the overload of patients.

The Alberta Government needs to address this issue immediately. We are not happy with the way things are now and we need something to change. It is time the province stepped in and really dealt with the problem that is not only facing our community but every community in Alberta. We urge you to take these concerns to Health Minister Ron Leipert and demand some sort of action be taken to help solve our health care crisis in Cold Lake.

Yours truly,
The Undersigned

Comments (total comments:47)

naqvi Said:

Being a health care provider, I strongly feel that the health care needs of the cold lake community are not being met adequately. I appeal to you to use your office judiciously and help in improving this sad state of affairs.

Posted: 6/26/2010 3:44:03 PM

lill w Said:

moving to the "city" of cold lake, i am thankful that i still have a family doctor in edmonton willing to see me, because no one out here is. they are overworked, stressed and what tragedy will it take to have the government take notice?!

Posted: 5/18/2010 9:50:59 PM

eric scanlan cold lake Said:

my wife & i moved here last year for employment & were both very surprised to find health care in such a sorry state,especially in the land of plenty.we have the same problems where we came from back in the maritimes,but that is to be expected in a town of only 4000 citizens.there are too many people living here for so few drs. & nurses.

Posted: 2/27/2010 6:32:26 PM

joe Said:

our health care system is going down the tubes. we need to speak out against this. i feel like i used to brag about our health care system, now i am afraid to go to our health care system for help! lets make some changes and positively affect our health care, its about time.

Posted: 11/20/2009 11:21:20 AM

krista Said:

cold lake , ab
we need help badly

Posted: 11/4/2009 10:07:23 AM

t gagnier Said:

there certainly needs to be more provincial support when it comes to health care. one issue is the amount of time it takes for the college of physcians to give authorize for doctors to practice in the province......both my kids have not been able to get a family doctor in the last 5 months, in turn having to utilize emergency. lack of doctors and hospital staff impacts not only the residents but the business community when it comes to recruiting new employees and retaining those already here. cold lake hospital services a vast area, not just cold lake residents and the crisis in the shortage of health care professionals needs to be looked at in a serious way if we are to continue to be part of the "alberta advantage".

Posted: 10/16/2009 7:48:39 PM

wayne anderson Said:

i will support ant thing that has to do with the health care, the alberta government has to step up to the plate now.

Posted: 10/8/2009 9:09:20 AM

david lawrence Said:

i agree with the above comments that we desperately need more dr''s and nurses in this town. we do not all have time to sit and wait in emergency all day because some of us have jobs and other responsibilities.

go k rock go !!!!!!!!!!!

Posted: 9/14/2009 10:11:55 AM

christine caissie Said:

i totally agree with dr heydenrych, that we do need more dr''s and nurses. i would really like to see more dr''s names on this petition ,also nurses and government officals to add their names to this list so we can get some much needed help. stop stalling people. this issue will only get worse before it gets better.

Posted: 9/10/2009 12:30:23 PM

thir Said:

this government needs to quite making mindless cuts to healthcare in this province , and particularily needs to put money into the rural facilities.i have always supported the p.cs in alberta ,but have just about'' had it'' with them!where are the incentive programs to encourage the hiring of physicans and nurses?where are the increase in l.t.c beds to support our growing, aging population? where is the funds to help homecare support the families who chose to keep thier loved ones at home longer?this system has become all about how to do things in the cheapest and quickest way, it has little to do with compassion, caring, or even about safe health care.

Posted: 8/25/2009 4:11:12 PM

harvey Said:

stelmach and his cronies get a 30% raise while they steal away our health care? completely unacceptable and these "leaders" must be held accountable for their crimes against albertans.

Posted: 8/14/2009 11:50:34 AM

karen porter Said:

please bring us doctors mine will be leaving soon and even my husbands doctor says that he will not take me as a paitient

Posted: 8/7/2009 9:21:16 PM

garth mcmillan Said:

we need doctors and why wont esso shell husky cnrl & encana help

Posted: 8/7/2009 9:19:17 PM

dorothy Said:

i agree that cold lake is in need of additional doctors and staff

Posted: 8/7/2009 8:57:36 PM

rebecca handy Said:

as a mother of a one year old and the friends to 2 women who are pregnant and have to go to edmonton for their ultrasounds, i am extremely disappointed and frustrated by the current situation here in cold lake. not only is the drive to edmonton hazardous in the best weather - it is also absurd to ask a pregnant woman to drive for 3.5 hours one way just to make sure her baby is healthy. i''m also hesitant to get pregnant again while living in cold lake for fear of not being able to even deliver here when the time comes. this is ridiculous and not what one would expect from the canadian health care system.

Posted: 8/7/2009 8:34:08 AM

clint&milly Said:

my husband has heart problems and had to access medical assistance in e.r. several times with someone different each time the doctors are overworked as well as the scarce nursing staff .its time this govt. steps up to the plate with more help instead of rolling back our health care every time the money crunch comes!!!!

Posted: 8/5/2009 6:05:07 PM

garett lefebvre Said:

edmonton, alberta

Posted: 8/5/2009 2:40:19 PM

benjamin dybaylo Said:

cold lake, alberta

Posted: 8/5/2009 2:39:56 PM

darcy dybaylo Said:

cold lake, alberta

Posted: 8/5/2009 2:39:35 PM

marcella dybaylo Said:

my father has cancer and must be seen weekly by a doctor, this often brings him to the er where he must wait long hours to just get a check-up. he is immunocompromised and is being forced to wait with people that are sneezing and coughing. the situation in cold lake is only going to get worse if some of the issues are not addressed. please listen.

Posted: 8/5/2009 2:39:00 PM

amber Said:

i agree that we need help asap in cold lake. i was in the doctors office in july and my doctor was telling me how hard it is getting on them and that he feels he can''t do an antique job because they are so short staffed. i fear that the few doctors we have left are going to leave because they can''t handle the work load and i don''t blame them if they make that choice.
i understand that the emergency is not a walk in clinic and the wait list to see the family doctor is nearly 2 months if not longer, so my family goes a long time before seeing a doctor and i fear that one day we will wait too long.
also with just having had a baby back in january 09 i fell we need to have technicians available to use the equipment our hospital has. not only is the traveling dangerous to the families it is a financial burden as well because anyone that is working has to take a minimum of one day off work to go. some more because they can''t make the trip there and back in one day because it''s too much driving.
also my first son was born in april 2007 i needed to be induced but there just was not enough staff available so i ended up having to have a c-section so that he could arrive safely too us. so this is not a new situation our community has been suffering for a long time and it''s time for the government to open up their eyes to the situation and help us out.
so please hear our cries for help and give us the funding we need to bring in the staff to supply the medical attention our community needs.

Posted: 8/5/2009 12:41:31 PM

lori porter Said:

i agree we need walk-in clinic''s the wait times are so long it''s sad. where i lived before they had walk in clinic''s all over the place and more then one hospital. this place is a town not a city never will be until we get some much needed help, more doctors and nurse''s. people do need to understand that it''s not the secretary''s fault ! i hope these letter''s help make a difference . more petition''s need to be written for other issues as well. go krock go!!!!

Posted: 8/5/2009 10:01:14 AM

shelley holuk Said:

our community is very special and many people have little to complain about except the long winters and our seemingly mismanaged healthcare system.the needs of healthcare are not shrinking our populations'' elderly and the poor health regimes of our young people are going to tax this system to an all new level.we need help to nip this in the bud now rather than when the wait in our busy er becomes days instead of hours.

Posted: 8/5/2009 10:00:50 AM

rick Said:

i find it ridiculous to have to travel to edmonton for appointments that are usually over with in half an hour or so. we need more specialists at our hospital.

Posted: 8/5/2009 7:22:17 AM

alex fuyarchuk Said:

i don''t have a car. last time i tried to get an apt they told me to try st paul. this is an amazing idea and i''m going to tell everyone i see to help support cold lake health care with this petition. facebook!

Posted: 8/4/2009 10:34:26 PM

lisa pelchat Said:

the staff here in cold lkae need a break, some new doctors would help take the crazy load off the over worked ones(we might be able to actually see a doctor who has time to care)

Posted: 8/4/2009 9:13:48 PM

mike Said:

cold lake alberta

Posted: 8/4/2009 8:39:36 PM

lou Said:

elderly seniors in active treatment beds who should be in long term care ... what a waste of money. going to the er for a prescription refill ... what a waste of money. inability to see a doctor for any reason ... just plain stupid! we are getting desperate. god help anybody who really gets sick in this city.

Posted: 8/4/2009 7:26:43 PM

torie peterson Said:

calgary , ab -formerly from cold lake

Posted: 8/4/2009 6:47:14 PM

dwayne peterson Said:

cold lake, ab.

Posted: 8/4/2009 6:45:02 PM

jari peterson Said:

cold lake

Posted: 8/4/2009 6:44:19 PM

penny peterson Said:

cold lake, ab.

Posted: 8/4/2009 6:43:40 PM

tanya burke Said:

as well as every expecting mother in cold lake, i also had to make not one but two trips out of the city for an ultrasound. this is completly unexceptable that we have the equipment but can''t hire the technicians to operate. something has to be done about the lack of doctors\support staff that we are doing without.
also i am one of the few lucky women who will be able to benifit from dr hansen''s expertise, but what will happen once our last obgyn is gone???

Posted: 8/4/2009 6:43:23 PM

karen packard Said:

karen packard
cold lake, alberta

Posted: 8/4/2009 6:06:49 PM

lisa snaith Said:

myself and my two children keelan morrison & emmalysse morrison are amoung the many who have lost or will be losing our family doctor this year. would hate to take up emergency time just for regular check ups and non emerg needs when others may be in need of that time greater than us.it''s unfair for the ppl of this health region to have to travel to another health region for care. are they getting extra funding for having the over flow of other health regions?

thank-you
lisa snaith

Posted: 8/4/2009 5:39:49 PM

fed up Said:

i have recently moved to the lakeland and coming from saskatchewan i knew it would be tough to get a family doctor but i had no idea how bad it was until i tried getting medical attention. it''s so frustrating to have to go to emergency at the hospital and wait for 6 hours for an eye infection because the walk in clinic isn''t open on friday afternoons. my eye infection not only backs up the waiting room for actual emgencies but holds me up from getting the proper medical attention i need. i don''t blame the clinic not being open because i can see that we don''t have the doctors to staff a clinic 24/7 but i do think the government needs to address this situation not only here in the lakeland but nation wide.

also i have terrible asthma and need a dose steroids to help me breathe at times so i tend to have to see my doctor at a moments notice because all of a sudden my asthma kicks in. so i try and get an appointment and of course i can''t get into any doctor because either they''re all booked up or again the clinic is closed so they advise me to go to emegency... but the kicker is emergency doctors can no longer prescribe narcotics (steriods).. we have to see our family doctor for that... so what is a person suppose to do???

this whole situation needs to be re-vamped

Posted: 7/29/2009 10:41:35 AM

dr s. heydenrych Said:

i have personally begged genia leskew mla , health minister ron leipert , stephen duckett ceo ahs , for help . duckett did not respond to my call for help . the college of physicians and surgeons is also making it very difficult for wel-trained doctors to come to alberta. there will no response unless the community of cold lake stands up to the politicians and demand action.it seems their only goal is to cut the budget , and not the healthcare of albertans.

Posted: 7/27/2009 12:08:08 PM

emilie Said:

if ultrasounds are to be done in edmonton i want the government to pay back my expenses for my trip! my girlfriend was sent there for an ultrasound in the ambulance and couldn''t afford to come back into town!! this is unfair and unhuman! are we waiting for our society to start catching diseases and we all die because of lack of health care!!! please please please think about it!! thank you to all the medical staff here in cold lake and area!! thank you!!

Posted: 7/23/2009 1:01:16 PM

kb Said:

unless you''re dying and the disease is a no brainer, there is no hope. doctors absolutely do not have time to spend with a patient to hear their concerns and treat them appropriately. there is no time to "investigate" a disease. they overprescribe medication that you might not even need as a short term solution and leave people with a feeling of hopelessness and anger towards physicians which is unfair for our doctors. we do not have uncaring doctors, we have overburdened and under resourced doctors. let''s not even mention the state of mental health care - do we even have a psychologist on staff! if you have hit the breaking point, you''re not going to wait 2 months to see the doctor! why are our pharmacists more willing/informative than our doctors?

i have personally been turned away by a doctor who "doesn''t know what else to say" when i''ve been coming back with the same complaint for years - when he''s barely run a blood test. google has more answers than they do. did they even go to med school?? they just don''t have time to refer to their training and open a book to research i''d say. at the end of the day i''m sure they want to go home an relax not try to figure out a patient that they have no investment in. we need more specialists, more testing equipment, shorter wait times and more resources. healthy, happy people healthy, happy community!!

Posted: 6/3/2009 5:08:06 PM

david green Said:

on december 18th, 2008, my girlfriend, kimberley and i left cold lake at approximately 07:20 heading south for st. albert. the reason we were going to st. albert is because she is pregnant and needed an ultrasound. although we have the equipment here, we don''t have the technicians. anyways, just after leaving cold lake and crossing the beaver river, we were heading up the hill towards the casino dene. about halfway up the hill, i hit a patch of black ice and the rear end of my truck started to swing towards the center of the road. the front tires went off the road and we were traveling sideways up the hill. my truck took out the curve sign and the rear end of the truck swung the rest of the way around so that we were looking back where we came from and sliding backwards and sideways eventually came to a rest against a tree. there was about $5000 damage done to my truck which has since been repaired. there were fears that we may have lost the baby because kimberley, even though wearing her seat belt was rammed into the centre console on the front seat. she suffered whiplash and has been in a fair amount of pain since then and has had several visits to the chiropractor and massage therapist.

i just believe that it is dangerous for people to have to travel so far for appointments, especially in the winter time and the fact that the province doesn''t take great care of the roads.

Posted: 4/22/2009 4:26:06 PM

wendy Said:

cold lake needs medical attention. we have personally talked to our doctor and he openly admitted that everyone is getting very tired. with more doctors leaving our community, that puts more strain on the medical professionals that remain in cold lake. this issue needs to be addressed before terrible mistakes happen because of overworked medical professionals or worse, we have no medical professionals left. we need to keep the people of cold lake healthy and we need to keep our doctors, nurses and medical techs healthy as well.

Posted: 4/22/2009 11:45:02 AM

deb Said:

please listen to us we need help badly

Posted: 4/7/2009 2:58:48 PM

jeff Said:

i agree that something must be done. i have an easy fix. all federal, provincial and local goverment officials take a 50% pay cut and put that money into health care and education these clowns are way overpayed maybe then they will really see what hardship is all about

Posted: 3/14/2009 5:48:27 PM

k Said:

do most people understand that this is not just a crisis in cold lake, but all over alberta, and canada. the doctors that we do have here in cold lake, are soon to be fed up, and stressed-out from being over-worked, and really under appreciated. (just like it is stated in the above letter) i work at a local clinic, and deal with many angry patients every day. i understand where they are coming from, but what good is it to get mad at the secretary? this is a great letter, and a fantastic way to get a point across, and our voices heard in a more productive way. (then screaming at someone over the phone!) lets continue to work together to get something done about this!

Posted: 3/11/2009 4:12:25 PM

pam macphail Said:

as a heart patient i cannot be without a physician. there are many other people in our community who will suffer unacceptable hardship and danger without adequate medical assistance locally. please make our concerns known to the minister.

Posted: 3/10/2009 7:32:47 AM

karon dornbusch Said:

yes, something needs to be done. we no longer have a ultra sound tech so people have to go to edmonton. we are in desperate need of more doctors and a walk in clinic.

Posted: 3/10/2009 7:07:30 AM

deacon ross Said:

cold lake, alberta

Posted: 2/6/2009 9:40:18 AM

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