Hamilton's health centre for refugees and immigrants runs on donations and volunteer labour, but it should get some financial help from upper levels of government, says a local incumbent MPP candidate.
Taking a tour of the Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health last week, NDP candidate Paul Miller said he'd take the cause to Queen's Park if he's re-elected.
'When people first arrive, they don't have the privilege to vote and they're not vocal. They're in survival mode.'- Hodan Ali, Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health
"It's a necessity and we should expand this program," said Miller, who's running in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek. "I think it should get some funding from the provincial and federal governments."
"I think we should step in and do a little bit to help them out."
Miller's visit was part of Take an MPP to Work Day, an annual event from the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO). This year, the RNAO used it to push its message for more nursing staff in light of the June 12 provincial election. Conservative, Liberal and NDP candidates took part across the province.
Miller toured Refuge's Main Street East teaching site, where he heard that the centre has about 25 clinicians — from nurses to doctors to infectious disease specialists — but they donate their time.
When the clinicians bill OHIP or the Interim Federal Health plan, they donate the fees back to the clinic, and that's what keeps it afloat, said Hodan Ali, Refuge's executive director.
Ali doesn't expect refugee and newcomer health to be an election issue.
Refugees 'not a voting block'
"I really think addressing the health needs of newcomers should be one of the goals of all of our provincial representatives, whichever party wins," she said.
'I'm going to suggest to you that right now there is not the money to do that.'- David Brown, Conservative candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
But newcomers "are not a voting block," she said. "When people first arrive, they don't have the privilege to vote and they're not vocal. They're in survival mode."
David Brown, PC candidate in Miller's riding, agrees with the RNAO's message that nurses are understaffed and overworked.
As for putting provincial money into Refuge, he's not so sure.
"I recognize that Paul Miller said we should be funding that and it would be great in an ideal world where we have a never-ending pot of money," he said. "Then there's the whole debate of if we should fund that."
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"We need to look after everyone, but a lot of people want to make sure that the taxpayers are where our focus needs to be."
Of giving funding to the centre, "I'm going to suggest to you that right now there is not the money to do that."
'If the feds aren't willing to stand up to their commitment, my view is that we do it.'- Ivan Luksic, Liberal candidate for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
Ivan Luksic, Liberal candidate for the same riding, likes Miller's idea. He's worked with hundreds of refugees over the years and has heard about their difficulty accessing health care.
It's a federal issue, he said, but "if the feds aren't willing to stand up to their commitment, my view is that we do it."
Refuge has about four staff members and has registered about 1,500 patients since 2011. It needs about $500,000 to operate but scrapes by on about one-fifth of that amount. Patient issues range from pregnancy to tuberculosis to post traumatic stress disorder. They are complex cases and often require interpreters, which the centre pays for, Ali said.
Health prevention costs less, director says
"If you can prevent someone from exacerbating a chronic illness, if it's not addressed and they end up in emergency, it ends up costing more," she said. "If children's health needs are addressed when they're young, they're not going to be as productive (when they're older)."
Irene Molenaar, a local RNAO member, said the association's overall message is that nurses are understaffed and overworked. Nurses have little time to provide adequate care, and more positions are being cut.
The Liberals have hired more than 20,000 nurses over the last 10 years and will hire more if they govern again, Luksic said.
Miller doesn't think the Liberals have been doing enough, and there have been local layoffs. 'I knocked on the door of a nurse yesterday who was being laid off."
Brown said the nursing shortage is another reason the Conservatives would like to balance the books and get Ontario's economy on track.
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