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◆ FORESTRY OUTLOOK P. 2 ◆ EDITORIAL P. 6
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Low overhead for industry, clean air for all Allan Wishart Free Press It’s a made-in-B.C. approach, and now the B.C. government is getting behind it. On Friday morning, at the board meeting of the Central Interior Logging Association, Environment Minister Terry Lake announced $2 million in funding over the next two years for the Carbon Offset Aggregation Cooperative (COAC). The cooperative provides financing to member companies to modify vehicles which use fossil fuel. Drivers also receive training in ways to reduce fuel use and emissions. The reductions in greenhouse gases are tracked and used as carbon offsets, which are then sold, transferred or traded by COAC. The proceeds of the sales then return to the members as dividends. “As we are here in the Prince George Railway and Forestry Museum,” Lake said, “it’s not difficult to be reminded of the impact of forestry on the region. “We also can’t ignore the impact some of these vehicles have on the environment.” He said COAC “meets all the targets for innovation.” “We think it’s a seed that is going to grow.” Mel Gulbranson of Gulbranson Logging in Vanderhoof says his first experience with COAC CEO George Stedeford was probably similar to most. “I didn’t understand all the figures George had with him,
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Northern Health penalized for surgery waits Andrew Hudson Interior News
Mel Gulbranson said burning 350,000 less litres of fuel every year would give his logging company an advantage. photo by Allan Wishart but he said the idea would work “It was the fastest sell job and it would save us money.” I’ve ever done, but it obviously Gulbranson said his company worked.” has installed the tracking units on Stedeford said one thing the 27 vehicles so far and plans to do companies needed to realize was the rest of them at breakup. that the impact on the environ“We use about 3.5 million litres ment didn’t necessarily end with of fuel in the company every year. their vehicles. If we can save 10 per cent of that, “The operators can make that’s 350,000 litres. changes in their driving habits “At the price of fuel these days, when they’re behind the controls that’s a lot of money.” of the heavy equipment, but they Logging is a very competitive may drive their own vehicle difindustry, he reminded the others ferently as well. there, and any advantage helps. “They see how our ideas can “We’ll know more next year save money, and they pass those when we get the first set of results, ideas on to their family and but it sounds good.” friends,” Stedeford said. COAC chairperson MaryAnne He thanked Lake for the supArcand remembered the first port, and said it would help COAC meeting she had with Lake about immensely. the initiative. “This support will allow us to “I was right behind someone build and roll out the program on who wanted to create a new park a long-term basis. The cost savor something, and their meeting ings we as a group realize from went long. I went from having 20 this will allow you to re-invest in minutes to having 10 minutes to your company and your equiphaving about five minutes. ment.”
Northern Health failed to meet wait-times targets for three key surgeries in 2010-2011, and as a result lost out on $790,000 in extra incentive funding offered by Victoria. That is less than a tenth of a per cent of Northern Health’s total revenues last year, which came to $650 million. But spokesperson Jessica Quinn said the incentive funding will keep Northern Health focused on cutting down surgical wait times. “We’re constantly working on improving access and shortening wait lists wherever we can,” she said. “This is an area of focus for us, and we’re striving to meet the targets that the government set out for us.” The targets apply to cataract surgery, knee and hip replacements— three surgeries for which wait lists have been a well-known problem in B.C., says health ministry spokesperson Ryan Jabs. “In the past, we’ve basically just given the health authorities their funding allocations and left it at that,” he said. “But there was no real incentive tied to whether they did meet their goals.” Specifically, the targets require that 90 per cent of patients who need a hip or knee replacement get it done with six and a half months of being ready for surgery. That time window shrinks to four months for patients who need cataracts removed.
Northern Health performed the worst on those targets among B.C. health authorities last year, with more than a third of hip replacement patients waiting too long and nearly half of knee and cataract surgeries exceeding the target. By contrast, only one per cent of Vancouver Coastal patients waited longer than 26 weeks for hip or knee surgeries, and just four per cent waited longer than the target for cataracts. As a result, that region, which takes in Vancouver, Richmond and the North Shore, lost none of its incentive funding. A draft report on surgeries in the Northern Health area, which runs across B.C. from Valemount to Atlin, said the region is characterized by relatively low patient volumes, hospitals that are far apart, and a limited number of specialists. Quinn said that recruiting and retaining surgeons has also been a challenge to Northern Health for a long time. For example, staff at Bulkley Valley District Hospital struggled for years to replace a general surgeon. The hospital has since moved to a visiting surgeon model, a system that has worked well and may be adopted by other rural hospitals. This is the third year that B.C.’s health ministry has held back funding when wait times for knee, hip and cataract surgeries. aren’t met. That represents the stick in the government’s stick-and-carrot approach. Continued on page 2
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