EDITORIAL

The Crystal Beach Strand page four

ANZOVINO HEARING CONCLUDES

Recommendations are as expected.
What was the cost?

I did warn them, but they didn't listen. I laid it all out, just as it unfolded at a Coroner's Inquest that has placed tremendous stress on a
grieving family. I told them about James Jamieson. But, they didn't listen. They used the tragic death of a local teenager to rally
support for the return of the ER at Douglas Memorial. And they were wrong.

The best that came out of this long, tortuous process are some new recommendations about paramedic protocol and, the suggestion
that a hospital in the Niagara Region should be designated, and staffed as a trauma centre. But, it is highly unlikely that a trauma
centre will be placed in Fort Erie and it is highly doubtful it will be located in Port Colborne. It will be placed in a more central location
than Fort Erie. Another reason it will not be placed in Fort Erie is because of Fort Erie's nearness to the border and the Erie County
Medical Center in Buffalo.

When I was on Health Council several years ago, I asked the then head of Douglas Memorial Hospital how many of its patients were
transferred to Buffalo on a yearly basis. He was evasive and never properly answered to my question. I was trying to pinpoint exactly
how much the Fort Erie hospital relied on its proximity to the US to maintain its standing as a full hospital. That was not long after
DMH closed its maternity wing which, to me, was an indication that DMH had begun downgrading itself.

So I knew that it was only a matter of time before DMH would lose its status as a full hospital. Actually, it works fine as an urgent care
centre. But, it is not enough for the times and for our community. However, people have to understand the tremendous advances in
medical care, especially in trauma care. Most of these advances came about as a result of war, where traumatic injuries are
common. As these improved methods trickle down to places like the Niagara Region, the existing hospital structures and hierarchy
need to adjust to the advances and sometimes that requires a new hospital.

So, at a tremendous cost to a grieving family, the inquest is complete. It brings no closure for the family; Reilly's death was the result
of a perfect storm of events that no earthy power could have changed. The inquest put the actions of the good and efficient
paramedics and emergency personnel into question. The inquest questioned the decisions made by experienced emergency
personnel. And, at first, it gave people the false hope that DMH and PCGH would reopen their ERs.

And what came out of this? The possibility that alcohol may have played a part in the accident; that inexperience on the part of the
driver may have contributed to the accident; that record keeping should be better; that emergency personnel should adhere to the
load and go time constraints regardless of the situation; and that video cameras should be in ambulances going forward. Of these,
only the last, the inclusion of video cameras is a good outcome. (From what I understand, the inclusion of video cameras is already
in the pipeline for EMS vehicles.)

Even if a roadside sobriety test were performed and the driver found to be under the influence, would that have changed the
outcome? Of course not. Any more that Douglas Memorial having a full ER would have changed the outcome. Yet the family were
persuaded to seek an inquest because they were led to believe that their daughter died because the ERs at Douglas Memorial and
Port Colborne were closed.

This is the saddest part of this whole expensive exercise: the cost to the family. Someone should have told this family the truth of what
happened, rather than feed their grief and expectations about a costly Coroner's Inquest.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE ANZOVINO CORONER'S INQUEST:

1.) Decision to take Anzovino to Welland Hospital "Appropriate."

2.) Nerve-wracking ride to Hospital

3.) Doctor Describes Anzovino Treatment

4.) Anzovino Would Have Been Taken to Welland Even if Fort Erie and Port
Colborne ERs were Open

5.) Insufficient Grounds to Test for Alcohol

6.) Anzovino Suffered "Devastating Injury"

7.) "Paramedics Acted Appropriately"

This is a digest of articles about the inquest, but they represent the gist of the matter. Next week, the parties' attorneys
will make summations and then the two man, three woman jury will deliberate and reach a decision. In this case, the jury
will probably offer recommendations based on testimony by various expert witnesses.

One thing the jury will not recommend: the re-opening of the ERs at Fort Erie and Port Colborne.

Hopefully some good will come out of this expensive coroner's inquest. It is a shame that the Anzovino family and friends
were persuaded to request this inquest by people who were more interested in their own agenda (Reestablishing the
Douglas Memorial ER) than the toll it would take on a grieving family.