26 - Sunday, June 20, 1993 - North Shore News HELP’S AT Hand, by North Shore Community Services (NSCS), is a forum for discussing government policies and pro- grams, benefits, consumer and legal rights, 1axatien and public services. Answers are intended only as a general guide and should not be applied to individual cases without further consultation. Question: | have heard about people who couldn't take trips that they had bowght tickets for because the airline went out of business. These people didn’t even get any money back. How can this be? Isn't there a guarantee with the purchase of a ticket? This is imaking me nervous because we have two tickets to Britain for this fall. Answer: We have heard of simi- lar stories. Although you might expect that you would be guaran- teed your flight or your moncy back, this isn’t always the case. Local students win awards FORTY-TWO North Van- couver Grade {2 students have been recognized by the North Vancouver High School Education Foundation for their ‘diligence, character and community service.” Foundation president Debra Pool said the local Organization will award $27,500 to Grade 12 students who are planning to continue with their education at post- secondary educational institu- tions. . In June, 18 bursaries and 24 scholarships will be pres- ented at various North Van- couver secondary school graduation ceremonies. The basic award for this year. is $590. Foundation awards are. indexed to the Consumer Price Index. Students can apply for the scholarships and bursaries through their school counsellors. The North Vancouver High School Education Foundation _ 4s a non-profit society incor- porated under the B.C. Societies Act. Gifts received by the foundation are in- HELP’S A This tvpe of situation stresses the importance of doing your research and reading the fine print. Your airline ticket, your in- voice from the travel agent, and your travel insurance documents are your contracts. ft is essential that travellers be aware of their coverage. t services purchased through licensed, regis- tered travel agents sire insured. The insurance coverage, known as the Travel Assurance Fund, is us- ed to compensate consumers if they do nut receive travel services, which they have paid for, due to business failure. In other words, if you purchas- ed your tickets from a licensed travel agent and missed your trip because the airline went out of business, you could submit a claim for reimbursement, In B.C., the Ministry of Labour and Consumer Services operates the Registrar of Travel office. To make a claim, or for more infor- mation, call the Registar of Travel at 660-3540. A travel purchase made through an airline ticket office is not covered by this insurance. Note that this protection is for leisure travel only; it does not ap- ply to business trips. Also, you must be a B.C, resident to qualify for reimbursement, {f you are not sure whether your travel agent is registered and licensed, ask for their registration number. ft can be verified by call- ing the Registrar of Travel, Personal travel insurance is also a good idea. In most cases, travel insuranee takes effect only if there are legitimate medical reasons for cancellation, In this case, you would be required to present a doctor's statement. Remember that changing your mind about a trip is never covered by travel insurance. As we said before, read the fine print of you agreement. Consumers are reminded to beware of calls that offer free or reduced-price trips. These are almost always a rip-off. The Registrar of Travel advises people to stay away from these offers and to never give out their credit card number, People who lose their money through these calls are not covered by the Travel Assurance Fund, This column is prepared with financial assistance from the Notary Foundation. For more in- formation call NSCS at 985-7138. NORTH SHORE INTERMEDIATE CARE SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 24 JUNE 1993 AT 7:30 PM IN THE The North Shore Intermediate Care Society is holding its annuai general meeting in the activities room of Cedarview Lodge on June 24, 1993, at 7:30 p.m. Cedarview Lodge is located at 41200 Cedarvillage Ciose, North Vancouver. Guest speakers will be David Schreck, MLA North Vancouver/Lonsdale and Carol Finnie — Director of Continuing Care at North Shore Health. All weicome (although voting is restricted to paid up members!) For further information please contact Cedarview Lodge at 984-4251 or Bruce Wallace at 980-2605. LIONS GATE HOSPITAL A Caring Community The Minister of Health signalled to us in 1992 that funding to hospitals would be restricted as monies were being redirected to more community-based services. We responded with a tight fiscal plan for 1992-93 which enhanced, wherever passible, our quality of care. Atthe same time, we continued to look at ways to work with community agencies to better coordinate and reduce duplication of services. Planning for 1993 - 1994 Health Reform on the North Shore The process of health reform is intended to shift the focus away from hospitals and into the com- munity. At a minimum cost of $500 a day for a bed at Lions Gate Hospital, it makes sense to pro- vide services in a less costly envi- ronment whenever possible. vested and the interest derived Constrained hospital funding is not unique to British Columbia. In fact, we in from the investments is used for the educational awards. NEW IN TOWH? _ LET US PUT OUT THE BAT . FOR YOU! be sure to call Su can A oe en. SINCE 1930 tto 980-0330 Robert J. Smith President & CEO B.C. have fared better than our counterparts in the rest of Canada. But staff. IT welcome your comments about Lions Gate Hospital, health reform and health care on the North Shore. Please write to me at: Ce throughout the past year, we have continucd to take strong action todownsize by cutting availableresources, supplies and both management and unionized We have carefully examined our utilization data from the past few years and introduced programs which reduce the length of stay of some admissions, at the same time improving the quality of care to our patients. Aichough Lions Gate Hospital is one of the most stable and efficient hospitals in the province, the broad brush approach of health reform requires us to reduce further. Shifting our resources into the community is a daunting challenge’ but we are Lions Gate Hospital 231 East 15th Street North Vancouver, B. C. V7L 2L7 re-examining all aspects of our operations to seek out greater efficiencies. We have embarked on our second major Strategic Planning Program, and we hope the plan and its key actions will help the proposed Regional North Shore Steering Committee determine the future configuration of our health delivery system. ; THE QUICK RESPONSE PROGRAM - A Friend in Need A friend in need is someone who's there when you really need them. The Quick Response Program (QRP) staff are ready to serve on a momen‘’s notice. A Lions Gate Hospital-North Shore Health Community Part- nership Program started in April 1990, QRP has served over 1000 people in its first 3 years. The program is designed to provide immediate, short-term (1-5 days), intensive home support toanyone living on the NorthShore who has a medical or health problem which can safely be managed at home. Mrs. Thelma Stewart (pictured with physiotherapist Marcia Matthews), was on the Quick Re- sponse Program after a fall which broke her shoulder. Services in- cluded daily physiotherapy, nurs- ing careand hornemaking services. “I'd like to thank everyone,” says Mrs. Stewart. “It’s much nicer tobe at home and now I can doa few things for myself. I'd recommend it to others. Everyone has done such a good job for me.” Atthe same time, health reform is intended toenhance whatis called thecontinuum ofcare. When people require health services from a va- riety ofagencies, their careshould be provided inas streamlined and coordinated a system as possible. ‘ } People should be able to move from one agency or service to an- other without disruption. To us, thal means developing partner- ships with the community as in the Quick Response Program which has just previded services toover 1000 customers in the past 3 years. Health reform also envisions people taking greater responsi- bility for their own health as a result of preventative practices. Clearly, our role is one of leader- ship to best develop and support the continuum of care. Care to Note Our North Shore community con- sumes about $200 milliona yearin Ministry of Health and Medical Services Plan funding. A further . $14 million is spent on social ser- vice and housing for. health -re- lated matters, particularly mental health. Of this amount, Lions Gate Hospital spends about $105 mil- lion or close to 50%.