Construction on a new wing housing CT-related services at Haliburton Highlands Health Services will wrap up in about six weeks, says hospital president and CEO, Veronica Nelson.

Media was invited to attend a walkthrough of the space May 17 – two and a half months after construction began. Nelson said it’s been a quick transformation, with Orillia-based Quinan Construction turning approximately 1,000 sq. ft. of storage and waiting room space into the Haliburton hospital’s new home for CT.

There will be a waiting area, changeroom, and two washrooms. The CT suite includes scan and control rooms, ultrasound room, and storage area. It will accommodate six to eight patients at a time, Nelson said.

Hannah Brown, a casual medical radiation technologist at HHHS, has been hired to run the CT unit. Nelson said Brown will start her new role June 3. It’ll be a busy month, with the Siemens Healthineers SOMATOM go.Top CT scanner to arrive June 17, and construction to wrap up by early July.

Nelson said other staff will be trained on the machines beginning July 8. The hospital will start taking bookings that week.

“It’s very exciting seeing the progress, the finishing line getting that much closer. This is the biggest, most significant enhancement this hospital has seen since it was built in 2001, and it’s all just a few weeks away from completion,” Nelson said. “This long-standing dream is finally becoming a reality.”

It’s all music to the ears of Tim Waite, the County’s EMS chief, who has been quietly advocating for a CT scanner for several years. Haliburton County is the only region in Ontario currently without the diagnostics device.

Fewer ambulances to leave County

That means Waite has had to deal with almost daily – sometimes more – patient transfers to other hospitals in Lindsay, Peterborough, Huntsville, Bracebridge, and even Kingston. This routinely takes County ambulances and EMS staff out of the community for up to six hours, he said.

In 2023, Haliburton County EMS completed more than 350 patient transfers – the bulk of those for CT scans.

“This is certainly a game-changer for EMS. CT transfers contribute to a significant amount of time where we have ambulances outside Haliburton County – none of these are scheduled, they are all for patients who arrive at the ER in Haliburton with an illness or injury that requires further diagnostics,” Waite said, noting his crew usually waits for the patient to get their scan before transporting them home.

There are four ambulances on the road during peak times, between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., dropping to three for the overnight shift. Waite said there will be an additional ambulance serving the community on weekends through the summer.

“It’s a bit of a juggling act at times – we certainly have those days that are extremely busy, where we have two ambulances away for transfers. Sometimes all it takes is one big incident, or a car crash, and we have multiple people requiring transfer,” Waite noted.

When backed up, Waite said paramedics often have to make difficult choices prioritizing people for transfer based on the severity of their issue. He likes to ensure there are always at least two ambulances available in the County.

Freeing up ambulance crews to respond almost exclusively to local calls is important Waite said, given call volumes have increased approximately 40 per cent since 2020.

“We have seen those numbers settling down in the last year as far as the big jumps go, but they are still increasing. Where this will help is having more trucks active inside the County servicing 911 calls… we’ll be able to monitor our response time targets and meet them more easily,” Waite said.

He warned, though, there will still be occasions when ambulances need to transport patients out-of-County – if a CT scan shows something that requires more specialized treatment, or if further testing is required.

Waite said there would likely be some cost savings, for things like fuel, but he didn’t have an approximate number. In 2022, he told The Highlander the average transfer for CT costs $720. Based on the department completing 350 transfers per year, savings could reach $252,000 annually.

The total cost of CT and mammography expansion has been touted at between $3 and $3.5 million. The HHHS Foundation has committed to raising $4.3 million for the project.

Executive director Melanie Klodt Wong kicked off the fundraising campaign last week, announcing they have raised $2.59 million – just over 60 per cent of the way towards meeting its goal.

“We want to have this wrapped up sooner than any other campaign I’ve worked on before. This is really fast and furious, we want to get this all paid off as soon as possible,” Klodt Wong said. “If anyone is considering making a donation, now is the time. This is your chance to support an important, life-changing project that’s going to help, in some way, every person in this community.”

To make a donation, contact mklodtwong@hhhs.ca or 705457-1580.

Luba Cargill admitted she felt a little overwhelmed at times during last week’s All About Apple Trees symposium in Haliburton, but for all the right reasons.

The event was months in the making – a collaboration between Cargill and volunteers involved with her Apple Tree Identification Project (ATIP) and U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research. It brought some of the continent’s top apple experts to the Highlands, educating people about apple tree locations and apple-based operations in the County, and investigating the role apples can play in improving food security.

Around 100 people attended the two-day event, held at the Haliburton Legion May 16 and 17.

“It was an outstanding success – we covered a lot of topics in terms of apples, people were very receptive and eager to hear how they could help further promote the use of apples in the County, and all the wonderful benefits they bring,” Cargill said.

Celebrity apple tree hunter Tom Brown made the trip from North Carolina, keeping the crowd engaged while he retold stories of him discovering hundreds of different apple varieties over the years. Author Helen Humphries discussed her book The Ghost Orchard, later doing a reading and signing copies for fans.

Brian Husband, a University of Guelph professor, talked about the Ontario Heritage and Feral Apple Project. He said the fruit is native to Europe and Asia but can now be grown almost anywhere in the world. He studies feral populations that have sprouted in unusual areas, noting Haliburton County is home to several such locations.

Through her work with ATIP, Cargill has identified more than 170 apple tree locations across the County, including 10 orchards. Many are located on private acreages, and on municipal land – some long forgotten about, and evidence that early settlers relied on apples as a key food source, Cargill noted.

Given the County’s position as one of the poorest in Ontario – with around 17 per cent of residents living in poverty per the City of Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Poverty Reduction Roundtable – and an increased demand at all food banks, attendees heard how the fruit can play a key role in improving food security in the area.

Aisha Malik, co-chair of Harvest Haliburton, said her organization partnered with Abby Junkin, a research student from Trent University, on ways to maximize the County’s apple supply.

“We know there are challenges to our community when it comes to growing local food. There are geographical constraints, insufficient infrastructure, low incomes… addressing food system challenges requires a comprehensive approach,” Malik said. “We need more community engagement, policy interventions at the municipal level, investments in infrastructure, and collaboration among stakeholders.

“We all have to come together to build a sustainable food system.”

One of the easiest ways is to plant apple trees, Malik said.

“They’re versatile, renowned for their heartiness and low-maintenance requirements. They have a lengthy shelf life and exceptional nutritional value,” she said. “People can use them in soups, salads, baked foods, or even to eat on their own.”

Gena Robertson of SIRCH Community Services said her organization has been utilizing local apples in recipes at the Bistro, and for its applesauce project, for several years.

The applesauce project was launched in 2014 after SIRCH partnered with Trent University students on a project investigating food insecurity and poverty in the County. They conducted 78 interviews with clients and other community stakeholders, finding that only one per cent of seniors surveyed could afford to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into their daily diet.

Each year, people with apple trees are encouraged to pick and donate them to SIRCH, where volunteers cook and process them into applesauce. Over the past 10 years, SIRCH has supplied 9,669 servings of free applesauce to the community.

Robertson said there’s no waste, with cores and peels feeding pigs. Prod:

Scott Ovell, the County’s director of economic development and tourism, said his department would be happy to partner with ATIP and other organizations to promote the Highlands as a destination for people interested in apple products.

“We’ve done it with things like [Maplefest] – a lot of people don’t know that Haliburton County, in the last four years, has become a premier source for maple sap and there’s two big players that have moved here,” he said, noting, in theory, the same thing could happen with apples.

Andrew Gordon, director at U-Links, said decision-makers need only look at Prince Edward County at how to revitalize the local apple industry.

“I can remember 35 years ago driving through there… and it was derelict. But now, people are driving two-and-a-half hours from Toronto to have a glass of wine and turning around and going right back home,” Gordon said. “I think we can do the exact same thing here.”

Cargill said ATIP Haliburton is working on a cookbook filled with locally-inspired recipes for people to try. It will be available in the fall.

For more information, or to find tree locations included in this year’s Apple Blossom Tour, visit appletreeshaliburton.ca.

The union representing 28 employees at Highlands East says it has voted unanimously in favour of strike action, prior to scheduled conciliation June 10.

Eric Bell, a CUPE communications representative, issued a press release last week, saying members of CUPE Local 4416 represent the civic employees at the municipality.

As is customary with labour negotiations, the union has released information, while the township will not.

“At this time, the municipality does not wish to provide comment on this matter,” CAO/treasurer Brittany McCaw said.

Bell said the vote, on May 8, came following multiple days of negotiations between the bargaining committee and the township.

He said, “fair wage increases to address the cost of living remains a priority issue, as well as fighting back against concessions from the employer, including mandatory weekend work, and the ability to change employee schedules with little to no notice.”

Asked by The Highlander what the union considers to be “fair wages,” Bell said he would not discuss specifics, “but members are looking at wages that meet the rate of inflation and address the increased cost of living.”

Asked what new concessions were on the table, he said “new mandatory weekend language that would require some members to work weekends with little notice.”

Bell further claimed, “the employer is refusing to negotiate benefits for two female workers that men working in the same position on the same schedule previously enjoyed.” However, he would not discuss details around the union’s claims regarding either notice or benefits, nor did he provide proof of the union’s benefits’ claim.

He did quote president Rick Huffman as saying, “this unanimous vote sends a strong signal to the employer that our members are united and willing to stand up and fight for fair wages and against concessions.

Huffman added, “our members have lives outside of work, and at the very least, they deserve predictable schedules that allow them to be able to make plans in their personal lives. They also deserve fair wages to address the growing cost of living, and everyone deserves benefits, regardless of their gender, especially when those benefits were offered to men working in the same position.” Again, the union produced nothing to back this claim.

It also provided no proof of claims of “ongoing workplace health and safety issues that continue to go unaddressed by the municipality.

The Minden farmers market, and its accompanying artisan market, made a return for the 2024 summer season May 18 in downtown Minden.

Locals, and cottagers browsed the offerings and grabbed a bite to eat on a beautiful summer’s day.

The markets are continuing well into the fall: in Haliburton on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Abbey Gardens on Fridays from 2 to 6 p.m., and in Minden on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.