February 16 - 28, 2018
OPINION
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY
Rey Fortaleza - Publisher
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Breaking
Point
By Rosette Correa
My family experienced one of its
biggest scares this weekend - a child
in the hospital. No parent can be calm
and collected when a child complains
of a pain that you cannot do anything
about. The horror stories about the
long waits at the doctor’s office, only
to be sent away with a couple of
Advils or Tylenols, or in this case, a
misdiagnosis of urinary tract infection
even without the proper examinations,
is what raises your anxiety. Worse
even is being made to wait for hours
in the emergency room only to be
sent home with advice to come back
if pain persists.
These did not happen to us, though.
Except for the UTI misdiagnosis by a
walk-in clinic doctor.
What did happen to us was
great advice from our family doctor,
Dr. Villalon, who immediately
suspected appendicitis, and ordered
blood tests that would pinpoint the
problem to the closest degree. With
the diagnosis was the advice to go
immediately to the emergency room
of the Surrey Memorial Hospital if the
pain does not subside, which took
us there Thursday night. Without the
notorious long wait, doctors in th e
Pediatric Emergency Room ordered
OP- ED
By Carole James
VICTORIA- People throughout the
province tell me the same thing: B.C.’s
economy is working well - but it’s not
working well for me or my family.
We live in a province rich in
opportunity, yet that opportunity has
been pushed out of reach for too
many. I’ve heard from young families,
students, workers and seniors who
can’t afford housing where they live.
Families are struggling to find safe,
affordable care for their children.
And people across B.C. need reliable
access to the services they count on.
We can do better. On Tuesday, I
presented our first full budget since our
government took office seven months
ago. It marks a different approach
where people and affordability are
put at the centre of government’s
decisions.
With this budget our province has
started down the path to a made-in-
B.C., universal, child-care plan with
a historic $1-billion investment. We
will deliver the kind of care our kids
deserve, where parents need it, and
at a price they can afford. The plan
When Healthcare Works
the necessary tests and wheeled
my twelve-year-old into surgery
with Dr. Nguyen by Friday early
morning. Opening her up revealed a
perforated appendix, which, if we had
waited, would have caused her death,
since all the pus covered her digestive
system. With continuous calls from
our family doctor, diagnostics and
tests, my daughter’s life was saved.
The Pediatric Ward or the Child
and Youth Services (CYS) Department
of the SMH is said to be one of the best
in the Lower Mainland, and it deserves
that accolade. The nurses there, Erin,
Irene, Becca, Jas and Cheryl, took
care of my daughter round the clock,
checking every pain and discomfort
and making sure she was getting her
medication. The other staff were also
caring and compassionate, and they
do a phenomenal job with the other
patients in the ward.
We left the hospital five days
after with nothing but a signature for
my daughter’s discharge and a few
parking receipts for our stay.
Despite what some people say
about our healthcare system, I would
not trade it for the world. Back in the
Philippines, worries about a sick family
member is compounded with the
hospital bills that were about to come
upon discharge. In fact, you worry whether you would
actually make it to
the operating room
because if you
did not have the
money for deposit,
you would not
be admitted and
even get through
the door of the
hospital. What my
husband and I were
worrying about is
how to maximize
our parking fee
of $16 per day.
Looking back at
the last few days,
we now laugh at
ourselves at how
trivial parking fees
were
compared
to how much we
would have paid for our daughter’s
hospitalization if we were in the
Philippines. No wonder the Americans
are so envious of our healthcare
system!
Of course, the healthcare system
can still be improved, and many more
people can benefit from it if only the
Liberal government puts money into
the more important health needs,
rather than in useless legislation such
includes a new
affordable child-care benefit, which
will provide as many as 86,000
families across B.C. with up to $1,250
per month in child-care cost relief.
There also will be a new child-care fee
reduction program that will benefit
all families in licensed care with fee
reductions of up to $350 per month.
And there will be more than 22,000
new licensed child-care spaces
created throughout the province.
Our budget also takes bold steps
to tackle B.C.’s housing crisis. For
too long this crisis was ignored by
government. It has hurt people and it
has hurt businesses’ ability to attract
and retain workers. That’s why our
budget lays out a comprehensive
plan to stabilize the market and curb
demand. We’re cracking down on
speculators and satellite families who
are driving up housing costs in our
province with a new speculation tax,
increasing and expanding the foreign-
buyer tax to other communities in
B.C., and closing loopholes that are
being exploited in the real-estate
market. The principle is clear: Our housing market shouldn’t be used as
a stock market.
We’re also going to dedicate
more than $7 billion over the next
years to build, operate and maintain
affordable housing for renters, our
most vulnerable citizens, students
and seniors. We’re increasing rental
assistance for low-income seniors and
families and strengthening laws to
help renters. We want people to have
diverse, inclusive neighbourhoods that
they feel safe in. We want affordable
housing that works for people.
None of these investments could
be possible without B.C.’s strong
economy. The significant steps we’re
taking on child care and housing in this
budget will help our businesses get the
workforce they need. We’re making
record-level investments in schools,
hospitals and our transportation
network, as well as creating 50,000
direct and indirect jobs through these
investments.
But let’s be clear - the benefits of
a strong economy must be shared
with everyone. That’s why we’re also
eliminating MSP premiums and saving
as marijuana legalization and assisted
suicide. Don’t get me started.
So, let me take this opportunity
to thank our doctors, Dr. Villalon
and Dr. Nguyen, the staff of the
Pediatric Emergency Room, the
Operating Room and the CYS, as
well as the other departments of the
SMH for doing a wonderful job. You
are everyday heroes who deserve our
many thanks.
Budget will make life in province
more affordable
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
families up to $1,800 a year, building
more hospitals and schools across
B.C., improving care for seniors who
deserve the best we can give them,
and so much more. It’s a budget that
makes life more affordable and helps
people get ahead. And I’m incredibly
proud to be a part of a government
that is putting British Columbians
at the centre of our government’s
decisions. Our budget balances the
needs and priorities of the families,
seniors, students, young adults and
small businesses that have built our
province, with a prudent fiscal plan
that invests in a strong and sustainable
economy. Budget 2018 is a budget
t hat works for you.