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Friends of Medicare forms local chapter

Putting pressure on Red Deer’s MLAs can make a difference in saving beds at two nursing homes slated for closure, an official with the Friends of Medicare said Thursday.

Putting pressure on Red Deer’s MLAs can make a difference in saving beds at two nursing homes slated for closure, an official with the Friends of Medicare said Thursday.

David Eggen, executive director of Friends, told about 50 people they can make a difference by demonstrating their displeasure with the planned closures of the Red Deer Nursing Home and Valley Park Manor.

“Now that we have a chapter here they will expect us to do something.

“I think we can go right after Cal Dallas and Mary-Anne Jablonski’s offices and demand they not close some of those beds at those two facilities.

“We can demonstrate pretty clearly by going right after them and say you’re jobs are on the line.”

The Friends formed a chapter in Central Alberta during a meeting at the Red Deer Public Library.

It is one of eight Alberta chapters in the 30-year-old organization which has more than 5,000 members.

Eggen said the Wildrose Alliance Party “could scare the daylights out of the Red Deer Tory MLAs.

“In all seriousness they will only act out of fear.

“I know Mary-Anne is scared. She’s definitely jumpy.

“So let’s work on them. Make them more jumpy,” Eggen said.

He said previous efforts from Central Alberta to keep the government honest in health care has been “focused, intelligent and well placed advocacy for health care.”

Brenda Corney, who was elected chairperson of the Central Alberta chapter, said everyone must be vigilant to protect and preserve public health care.

“We may not be able to stop the challenges completely but we can slow them down,” Corney said.

Eggen said the province does listen to Friends.

“They like to say they don’t but they’re worried about the health file too,” he said.

He said acute care bed reduction has seen the Central Alberta area left with about half as many beds as it had 20 years ago.

In that time the population has increased by about a third.

He said the government uses old excuses like health care is too expensive.

The government claims the population is growing and it’s not sustainable so it needs to look for options.

“These are code words for privatization.

“We have to debunk those myths.

“Our health system is very affordable.”

He said the province only spends five per cent of its gross domestic product on health care.

The Canadian average is 9.5-10 per cent while it’s 17 per cent in the United States.

“The next time your MLAs here pull out that old song that health care is eating up the budget tell them baloney,” Eggen said.

jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com