Problems at Group Health began after 2012 funding announcement: Da Prat

A $38-million provincial investment in the Group Health Centre in 2012 came with a promise to improve access to front line care in Sault Ste. Marie, but the president of the largest steelworker local in the city says it was the start of a number of problems that led to the current health care crisis.

Mike Da Prat, president of USW Local 2251, told SooToday the steelworkers who contributed to building the organization were partners in the GHC and had a voice in the decisions that were being made though the GHA board. Da Prat said USW Local 2251 stepped down from the GHA board because, without representation on the new GHC board, it put them in a difficult position.

If members are going to be released, it should be in order of when they entered and what participation they had with the Group Health, Da Prat said in a Feb. 2 article. On Sunday, SooToday reported that the GHC's lender hiked interest rates by more than four times on $4-million worth of mortgages, a direct result of January's de-rostering announcement.

Da Prat said the funding the GHC was asking the ministry for was pitched as a way to prevent the organization from de-rostering 6,000 more patients — not to help cover higher interest costs.

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