Christine Whelan FEO, July 6, 2023, VOL. 4 ISSUE 23
On July 5, the Urgent Care Centre at Douglas Memorial Hospital is scheduled to be reduced to part-time hours, opening its doors between 10:00 am and 10:00 pm each day.
Two vigils on-site — June 21 and June 28 — have taken place. The third and final one, calling on the community to attend, is July 5 at 10:00 am-Noon.
Heather Kelley, a Fort Erie resident, stepped forward one day “because somebody had to”.
She started with her initial post on the Douglas Memorial Vigil Facebook Page, “I will be outside our Douglas Memorial Urgent Care at 230 Bertie Street on Wednesdays from 10am-Noon starting June 21 and ending July 5.”
Kelley just needed to let the community know people of Fort Erie haven’t given up hope that “the powers that be will come to their senses before a serious tragedy occurs.”
She invited anyone to “come and share stories.”
Heather Kelley is not a hospital worker. “I’ve been a protestor since the first time it was going to close down.”
She continued, “When I first heard about the decision to eliminate urgent care in Fort Erie,” reminding me that it was originally supposed to be completely shut down, back in February. “I waited a couple of weeks, listening for any conversations being had at local coffee shops. There really wasn’t anything that was being said at all around the community. So, I started writing letters to the editor just to see if I could generate some discussion, see what people were thinking.”
Heather said it was then that she began to hear others commenting that urgent care services are something that we do need in town.
“Our town is growing. Also, in the summertime, we have all the American residents and summer cottagers. Port Colborne has Sherkston Shores and their hours are cut back.”
She added, when it comes to emergencies, “It just seems that Niagara Falls, Welland, and St. Catharines is way too far to go.
“There are a lot of people here in town who don’t have doctors. There are a lot of people in town who don’t have transportation.” She talked about those she knows who rely on public transportation, even for medical emergencies. “And then there’s the ambulance service. We know that there’s been a problem with that service.”
Fort Erie is known for its unpredictable and sometimes volatile storms. “I know, there are times in the middle of winter when we can’t get out and others can’t get in.”
“Health care isn’t part-time.”
We talked about the reduced number of hours, in reality, being even less than indicated. If the hours of operation are until 10:00 pm, then the hospital staff will have to be done by then. This means the last person taken will be more like at 8:00 pm.
“I don’t understand the timing of all of this. The new hospital in Niagara Falls hasn’t even opened yet. This is at a time when we are growing when health care is an issue for so many people that they can’t even get a general practitioner to care for them.”
She continued passionately, “I don’t believe the people here in Fort Erie are expendable. I believe we all deserve health care. That’s the issue.
“I’ve been working on these issues for a very long time.” Kelley shared that she’s connected with the Niagara Health Coalition and the Ontario Health Coalition.
“I became tied in with a much larger group in Ontario and that’s why we ended up doing a referendum vote here in Fort Erie.”
Moving Forward: What Can Be Done
“Honestly, I’ve had people call me and they are just afraid. They don’t know where to go. They don’t know who to turn to.”
Kelley says this is a time for people to say, ‘Enough’.
So, now the plan is to work towards September 25. “This is when the legislature goes back in. We need formal petitions. We need to make sure that people are talking about the effects that the closures have on each other.
“We need to make sure that we’re writing letters. We need to make sure that we’re making comments on social media that this is not acceptable. It’s just not acceptable.” Heather explained this is how everyone can participate.
“Over the course of the summer, there will be more events that will be planned to work our way to September 25. And then we’ll hold a big rally in Toronto that day to say, enough is enough.”
Heather says she’s trying to put herself out there to say to people, “It’s ok to buck the system”.
I asked Kelley how she got into this role, her personality? She laughed but agreed. “After waiting and listening for those couple weeks back in February and not hearing anybody talking about it.– that scared me. I thought somebody has to say something. Somebody has to speak up about this.”
Being a union rep in her background, Heather knew she had skills in organizing events and she could make it happen.”
Different Ways To Participate
“I know some people don’t want to go out and rally. They would prefer to be able to do something in the privacy of their own home. And there are those options. We can call our MPP on the telephone. We can call our mayor and talk to him. We can call our town councillors.”
She added, “In this area, they don’t have that much power, I know, but if we’re sticking together and all saying the same thing, instead of one person, we’re an entire army of people.”
Support from The Town
Heather spoke at a Town Council Meeting. “I wanted to see the position that they would take. And they were actually very supportive. I asked them to participate in the referendum vote. They provided the banquet facilities to do the vote counting.”
She’s trying to include as many official representatives, from municipal to federal levels, as she can. At all levels, she has felt support.
Final vigil and last day of 24/7 Urgent Care – Wednesday, July 5, 10:00 am – Noon, 230 Bertie Street, Fort Erie
“We need you here with us. It really does matter.”
To sign up for the rally in Queens Park, Toronto on September 25, 2023, and participate in the events that lead up to that date, follow the Facebook Page, Fort Erie Healthcare SOS
Heather left our interview Tuesday, June 27 to present to Niagara Health, continuing her mission on behalf of the community.
