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bo 1 OPINION HEALTH CARE IS A PEOPLE INDUSTRY WORKERS KEEP THINGS TOGETHER, WRITES NADIA ALAM A patient thanked me today. She said, "I know you don't hear it very often. I'm sure you get more com- plaints thannot. But I want to say thank you for the time you put in learning how to care for me and then doing it." Her words stayed with me. She lifted my spirits. I felt understood and appre- NADIA * ALAM Column ISTE ciated. She also made me think. How often did I thank my coworkers, my patients? And the flip side: How often did I complain about our health-care-system? I look around and I see hospitals - struggling all -across Ontario. Emergency departments swamped with 'waiting patients, waiting to " be seen, waiting to be admit- ted to a floor bed, crowding hallways, stretchers and chairs. I see patients con- fused and frustrated by the bureaucratic jumble our health-care system has be- come. So many of them even without a family doctor. I see managers struggling to juggle beds, make impossi- ble decisions between who's the sickest. I see doctors, nurses, caregivers and pa- tients stretching in extraor- dinary ways to fill the gaps in our health-care system. I see burnout etched on faces and echoing in so many voices. It's what pushes me to advocate for better. And yet, we are lucky. We at least have a health- care system. It's far from perfect. And parts of it are just plain broken. But we have a starting place. A launching point. So. I took another look around, today. I saw the same doctors, having worked several nights on call in a row, there again with a quiet wisdom and compassion. I saw the same - overcrowded nurses, still working dou- ble shifts, but doing so with a kind word and smile. I saw the many small acts of kindness that smoothed: over the rough edges of an emergency department or a swamped medical-surgical ward. I saw the patients who, wait- ing for their own surgery, graciously made way for the emergency case that bumped them. Change is coming to our health-care system. It is slow and unwieldy. But itis coming. And it is desper- ately needed. The problems we see to- day were years in the mak- ing. The solutions will take . just as long. While we push for change, I'm also going to take a lesson from my pa- tient, and I will thank the people who keep our health- care system together. Nadia Alam-is a Georgetown physician and past president of the Onta- rio Medical Association. Her columns also appear on https.//medi- um.com/@docschmadia. She can be reached af na- dia.alam@oma.org. SIGN UP FOR UR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM B LETTERS & COMMENTARY THANKS TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT On behalf of the 19th an- nual Classic Golf Tourna- ment committee, we would like to take this opportuni- ty to extend our sincerest appreciation for your sup- port. We are thrilled to an- nounce that our golf tour- nament, which took place on Monday, Sept. 23, raised $90,000 in net proceeds! All proceeds raised will go to- ward the purchase of es- sential medical equipment . for Milton District Hospi- tal. It is with the assistance and generosity of people + like yourself that we can continue to raise funds for Milton District Hospital. With community support, our ability to provide im- proved facilities and ser- vices to those who come to us for care can be greatly enhanced. We could not achieved this without your generous support! Please save the date for our 20th annual Classic Golf Tour- nament, taking place on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020 once again at RattleSnake Point Golf Club. We hope to see you again next year! Once again, thank you SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR TODAY! Financial solutions are around the corner. Suite 217 www.edwardjones.com * Brett J Strano, CFP®, FMA, CIWM Financial Advisor 330 Bronte Street South: Milton, ON LOT 7X1 905 864-9969 £ Carlee MacQueen Financial Advisor 310 Main Street East Suite 103 "i Milton, ON LOT 1P4 905-864-6959 Edward Jones MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING have for your continued support and generosity to the Mil- ton District Hospital Foun- dation. 2019 GOLF COMMITEE, BRAD GRANT (CHAIR), PHIL COL- LIER, TERESA FUJARCZUK. JOHN LOEPRICH. ALLEN LOURENCO, WILL MACKAY. JEREMY MEEHAN "TRAFFIC AROUND CONDO OF "GREAT CONCERN' I read with interest two articles in the Champion concerning traffic issues in Milton. We purchased a condo to downsize to on the north- west corner of Louis Saint Laurent Avenue and Hwy. 25. When we made our pur- chase we knew that there would be traffic. However, we did not think it would be like. this. It is very busy most of the time, even in the wee hours of 3and 4 a.m. The only time that we can peacefully use our balcony is early on Sun- 'day morning. The volume is already a concern, and with Milton growing the way it is the traffic is going to get much worse. The condo units that are under construction will increase traffic all around, especially with the limited GO service we have. Add in the possibility of the railroad 'hub' with all the added trucks onto our roads, and it sets up a possi- bility for disaster. Another great concern isthe speed and noise of the existing traffic. There is racing going on and those vehicles are also loud. Dur- ing the off hours you can hear them coming and I am sure that they are not stop- ping for the light and just race through our area. There is also a fire/para- medic station being con- structed beside our condo, and I am hoping that when required they can get out safely and quickly. This is also an area that is used by a lot of bicycles. : GLORIA M. KIDSTON, MILTON IN BAD BOY CIMT RS NOOO MINIMUM PURCHASE ici ar saosov.ca -s 6102 'LI 4290100 'Aepsinyy | uoidweys ueipeued uo | 6 : J