Serving MIMICO, LONG BRANCH, STONEGATE-QUEENSWAY, ALDERWOOD and NEW TORONTO
www.etobicokeguardian.com
wed dec 26, 2012
mural masterpiece
Staff photo/IAN KELSO
work of art: Graffiti artist 'Wong" (second from right) unveils his latest mural at Elmhurst Plaza on Friday along with the help of Sean Sportum of Macs Convenience Stores, left, Toronto Police Service 23 Division Supt. Ron Taverner, Crime Stoppers’ Lorne Simon and Staff Sgt. Kim Scanlan (right).
First hospital telephone town hall Friends remember meeting draws 5,000 participants the ‘Mayor of Mimico’ TAMARA SHEPHARD tshephard@insidetoronto.com Etobicoke General Hospital’s emergency department is not the go-to for all north Etobicoke residents in need of health care. That was one of the primary messages hospital officials communicated to residents on Dec. 11 during their first telephone town hall held to help residents understand the specialized health-care offerings in the area and how and when to contact each one. “Oftentimes, people feel the only place to go is the ER, even if
they know they don’t need to go to the ER,” explained Matt Anderson, president and CEO of William Osler Health System, which operates Etobicoke General Hospital (EGH). “We plan to hold another telephone town hall in the spring and invite primary care GPs (general practitioners) and family physicians to participate to provide more linkages, and easier referrals (to family doctors).” Many north Etobicoke residents do not have their own doctor, which leads many to head to the ER instead, Anderson explained.
Educating potential patients about when, and when not, to go to EGH’s emergency department is critically important to Osler. Built in 1972 to treat 33,000 patients per year, the same emergency department now sees more than 80,000 patients per year. Yet EGH’s emergency department wait times remain better than the provincial targets, in fact, better than the provincial average, Dr. Naveed Mohammed, Osler’s vice-president of medical affairs, has reported. EGH’s emergency department will be expanded and moved into a >>>FEEDBACK, page 8
Domenic Platsis was known for his generosity CYNTHIA REASON creason@insidetoronto.com To some in south Etobicoke, he was known as the ‘Mayor of Mimico’. To others, he was the ‘Little General’. To many more, he was simply called ‘friend’. No matter what title Kyriakos “Domenic” Platsis was known by, he will be remembered by all who knew him for his easy smile and his infectious generosity of spirit. “I love to help people. If I can do something for somebody, why not?”
Platsis told The Guardian back in 2006. “Everyone has an obligation not just to get, but to give back to the community. Everybody can do something.” A Greek immigrant, Platsis came to Canada in 1960 and soon thereafter settled in Mimico, quickly adopting his new community as his home away from home. It was in Mimico where he built his business at the Canadiana Dining Lounge, which has remained a local favourite on Lake Shore Boulevard >>>LITTLE, page 24
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