Tag: Health

Health Coalitions Survey LTC workers

John Draper

Three groups have teamed up to survey Long Term Care workers to uncover deficiencies.  Using the results, they are now lobbying the Provincial Government to make improvements.  Their Press Conference on Tuesday, June 22 was on Zoom and recorded on Facebook with the video plus full survey results available via Links below.  This report will focus on their key findings and recommendations.  Their survey shows that the big problem is staffing which was a problem pre-Covid but is now worse.  The group believe that Government promises to increase the number of beds are both insufficient and unrealistic.  They also want a focus on public facilities and not “for-profit” homes.  To be clear, they are not talking about Retirement Homes but… Read complete articleHealth Coalitions Survey LTC workers

Pop-ups Brighten the Day in Cobourg

John Draper

In 2016, Cobourg Library created pop-up Libraries around Cobourg. These are small boxes installed in Public places that provide reading material for the public on a trust basis and they are still operating. Based on a sample of two that I looked at, they have a varying success rate. A week or so ago, the Art Gallery of Northumberland created mini pop-up Art Galleries and today, two Port Hope non-profit groups (Cultivate and Greenwood Coalition) have created 10 pop-up herb gardens – 5 in Cobourg and 5 in Port Hope. It will be interesting to see how long they survive but it’s great to see these initiatives. Based on the Library experience, Cobourg people can be trusted to a certain… Read complete articlePop-ups Brighten the Day in Cobourg

Vaccine Update – 21 April

John Draper

At her first media “scrum”, Dr. Natalie Bocking, the new HKPR Medical Officer of Health, provided a comprehensive update on what is being done to cope with the pandemic.  A good part of the statistical data she provided is available online at the HKPR DHU website (That’s the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit web site) but she also provided additional details about variants, vaccines, demographics, clinics, vaccine distribution and appointment availability.  It was open to the media and local media people did ask some questions. This report will provide a summary of information provided but in the interest of transparency, the one hour session was recorded on You-Tube and is available via links below. If you have the… Read complete articleVaccine Update – 21 April

Vaccine Update – 31 March

John Draper

Cobourg is in the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit which is headed up by a Medical Officer of Health (MOH).   This position was held by Dr. Lynn Noseworthy up to her retirement on December 11, 2020 and for the last four months Dr. Ian Gemmill has come out of retirement to do the job in an “acting” role.  He has conducted weekly media sessions that provided good information that could be disseminated but now the new Medical Officer of Health – Dr. Natalie Bocking – will take over on April 5 (see photo below).  At his final media “Zoom” meeting on March 31, Dr. Gemmill gave his usual informative briefing as outlined below.  He continues to stress that… Read complete articleVaccine Update – 31 March

Council Approves Re-zoning of Woodlawn Property

John Draper

Last October, Council was advised that the new owners of the Woodlawn had applied for re-zoning to allow its use as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre.  At Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole Council meeting, the results of the public meeting were presented and Council was asked to approve re-zoning to allow the project to continue.  But first, three of the seven members of Council declared conflicts because they owned nearby properties (Councillors Darling and Chorley) or worked for a company that does business with the owners (Councillor Burchat).  This left four councillors to make the decision.  Ryan Guetter of Weston Consulting represented the owners and provided two documents with responses to questions asked at the public meeting in November. … Read complete articleCouncil Approves Re-zoning of Woodlawn Property

Covid-19 Update by HKPR District Health Unit

John Draper

Our District’s Acting Medical officer for Health, Dr. Ian Gemmill, is very helpful in providing regular information on the pandemic. To do this, he holds weekly media briefings and next week will also hold a Virtual Town Hall for the public. With the lockdown to be eased on February 16, there is quite a lot of information to be disseminated this week.  Next Tuesday (the day after family day), Cobourg will move out of the “stay at home order” and into a zone – and according to Dr. Gemmill this will most probably be the Orange zone – see details below. The decision will be made by the Province and announced on Friday. He also said that another 1000 vaccine… Read complete articleCovid-19 Update by HKPR District Health Unit

Northumberland Covid-19 update

John Draper

The virus is not going away anytime soon – cases in Northumberland continue to rise and now Health authorities are setting up more testing locations.  McGill University recently did a survey of 28 experts and their average response was that a vaccine would not be available until June 2021 or even the Fall.  Meanwhile Trudeau has warned that “Christmas may be in jeopardy”.  As of Tuesday this week, there were 48 confirmed cases in Northumberland – up from 46 on Friday. If you meet certain criteria, up till now you could get tested at Northumberland Hills Hospital or Campbellford Hospital but starting November 4, a location in Port Hope will be added. In all cases, an appointment is necessary –… Read complete articleNorthumberland Covid-19 update

County Safety and Well Being Survey

John Draper

Northumberland County has a mandate for community services such as Affordable Housing, Paramedics, the Golden Plough and income support (welfare) as well as county roads, garbage and economic development. To better understand what residents see as priorities for a range of such services, a survey was conducted from 25 June to 31 July.  Public surveys usually get few participants and this was no exception with only 143 responses received. Of these, 61 were Cobourg residents. Of the 143, 46 were over 59 years of age, 60 were 39 to 58 and 29 were 18 to 38. The results are interesting and will guide the County’s “Community Safety and Well-being Plan”. Major categories were “Personal Safety”, “Feelings about Crime”, and “Environment and Culture” – details… Read complete articleCounty Safety and Well Being Survey

Woodlawn as Rehabilitation Centre

John Draper

At tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting of Cobourg Council, an application for a Zoning By-Law amendment was received from the new owners of the Woodlawn at 420 Division Street.  The property is currently zoned District Commercial and the new owners are applying to allow it to be used as a rehabilitation centre.  The company is Canadian Centre for Addictions which already has a location in Port Hope (see web site below). Although not required legally,  Cobourg’s policy is that re-zoning applications like this should include a public meeting so one will be held.  When asked when this might be, Director McGlashon suggested November 30 was likely.  In addition the applicant will likely also hold a virtual open House –… Read complete articleWoodlawn as Rehabilitation Centre