The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada • 9

Thursday, April 29, 2004 City Province Leader-Post A9 SAFETY CLEANING UP J'f Report shows dangers of riding bike without helmet tics in the report, 4,520 Canadians or an average of 12 people daily were admitted to hospital after a bicycle accident. One third of the patients were between five and 14. That same year, Saskatchewan had the second-highest rate of bicycle-related hospitalization among children and youth when compared with other provinces and the territories. Of the 168 people hospitalized for their injuries, 93 were between five and 15. Its not a huge number of cases, but it is contrary to the national trend, said Cassandra Linton, senior analyst with the trauma registry of CIHI.

British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have laws that require all cyclists wear helmets, whereas the laws in Alberta and Ontario apply to those younger than 18. The decline in the national rate can be attributed to those laws, according to Agrey. Since the mid-1990s, the Saskatchewan government has been lobbied to introduce similar legislation. Agrey says its past time for governments and cyclists to get on board. Its turning a blind eye to something that actually can help prevent a catastrophe, a really traumatic situation, and its cheap and its easy," she said.

Youre not going to prevent a crash by wearing a helmet. Theres a lot more to bicycle safely than just bike helmets. But the helmet is there to help protect your brain and to take the impact of the crash, and it can reduce the risk a lot. By LANA HAIGHT Saskatchewan News Network SASKATOON The number of people admitted to hospital because of bicycle accidents has been rising faster in Saskatchewan than anywhere else in the country, according to a new national report. This just lends credence to our argument that helmets should be mandatory," said Noreen Agrey, manager of programs and education at the Saskatchewan Institute on Prevention ofHandicaps.

Linda Saliken, communications coordinator at the Saskatchewan Safety Council, agrees. "Its better to crack your helmet than crack your skull, she said in a separate interview. Between 1997-1998 and 2001-2002, Saskatchewan saw an increase of 13.9 per cent, the highest in the country, in the number of children and youth who were hospitalized for at least one night because they were injured while riding their bikes. That statistic was reported in the National Trauma Registry 2004 Report: Injury Hospitalizations published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Meanwhile across Canada, the number stayed relatively steady.

When broken down into age groups, Canadians between five and 14 who were hospitalized because of a bicycle injury dropped by 15 per cent over the five years, but Saskatchewan saw an increase of 8.5 percent. In 2001-2002, the most recent statis Saliken says research shows that properly worn helmets reduce facial injuries by 65 per cent and head injuries by 88 per cent. She adds that paying $50 for a bike helmet is a small price to pay for safety. The Saskatchewan Safety Council at its annual general meeting this week passed a resolution that called for mandatory bike helmets for all ages. The organization plans to work with municipalities to pass by-laws in hopes of convincing the province that there is support for a provincial law.

Yorkton already has a by-law requiring children to wear helmets Saliken says in the coming months the council will be developing a strategy for approaching municipalities, and will be stepping up its educational programs that promote wearing the right helmets, using the right bicycle equipment and having the right attitude. According to the CIHI report, 58 per cent of the children and youth across Canada who were hurt, injured their bones, while facial or head injuries each accounted for 27 per cent of the injuries. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of kids suffering facial or head injuries went down by 11 per cent in each category. A break-down by province is not available. For people under 20, bicycle accidents was the fifth leading cause of hospitalization due to accidents.

However, when all ages are taken into account, the top reason for being admitted to hospital after an accident was unintentional falls. CanWest News Service DON HEALYLeader-Post Greg Healy with Wascana Centre Authority gathers trimmed tree branches Wednesday during annual spring cleanup in the park. POVERTY PLAINSMEN Band member listed in critical condition MEDICARE Nilson downplays Pettigrews comments Leader-Post staff A founder of the Regina-based country band the Poverty Plainsmen is recovering in an Edmonton hospital after the bands van rolled and caught fire on an Alberta highway last weekend en route home from a concert. Sean Smith underwent a nine-hour surgery Tuesday for a fractured neck and pelvis, said Wendy Smith, wife of the Plainsmens co-founder Mark Smith who is also Seans brother. Hes in critical, but stable condition, Wendy said.

Five musicians and one technician were on the way home to Regina after performing in High Level, when their van drove into a ditch, hit an approach, rolled and caught fire Sunday north of Grimshaw, Alta. Grimshaw is located about 500 kilometres north of Edmonton. RCMP say five of the occupants were thrown from the van as it rolled. They later removed the driver before emergency services arrived. Wendy Smith said only Sean remains in hospital.

At this point the doctors are not giving a definite prognosis as to Sean's recovery, said Wendy, who has been updating his condition on the band's Web site: www.thepoveiiypIainsmen.com. The Plainsmen were scheduled to perform at Casino Regina this weekend, opening for country star Charlie Major. Award-winning Alberta country singer Duane Steele has agreed to open the concert instead. wellness centre on its urban reserve in Saskatoons Sutherland area but the province has said it will not fluid the tests through medicare. Muskeg Lake is now considering offering MRI tests to paying customers.

The issue has been discussed with Pettigrew previously, said Nilson, and he believes the federal government shares Saskatchewans position. My understanding is that the Canada Health Act applies in their situation and this would be a contravention of the Canada Health Act if they go ahead the way they do, he said. Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall said it needs to be determined if there is a need for greater capacity within the health system before the issue of private delivery within the publicly-fUnded system is even debated. That holds true for proposals such as Muskeg Lakes, he said. CanWest News Service By JAMES WOOD Saskatchewan News Network Health Minister John Nilson said he was on the phone with his federal counterpart twice to raise concerns after Pierre Pettigrew made controversial comments about allowing provinces to experiment with medicare by hiring for-profit companies to deliver publicly funded medical services.

A day after making the comments before a House of Commons committee, Pettigrew called a press conference Wednesday to say he doesnt favour increased private deliv-eiy within the Canadian health system. Nilson told reporters at the legislature that hes sure Pettigrew heard from his colleagues in the Liberal government that they did not share his position. But he said Pettigrews comments are not helpful as the federal government and provinces look to make reforms to the health system in Canada. What we know and what our American friends tell us is to be extremely careful about how much the private, for-profit providers put into your system because you get into a veiy difficult, unmanageable situation, said Nilson. "Our challenge in Saskatchewan is clearly health care workers, and if we ended up with quite a number of private providers in this province we would see, and we know from other jurisdictions, that workers are drawn over to another system and that doesnt help deal with the waiting list issues and all the other issue we have.

The provincial NDP government has been opposed to allowing private delivery of services that are fiinded through medicare. On Tuesday Pettigrew had pointed out that practice is not forbidden by the Canada Health Act, the federal legislation that guarantees universally available and publicly administered health care. Nilson said he didn't think Pettigrew's comments opened any doors for the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. The Fiist Nation has proposed setting up a private MRI clinic as part of a proposed 000 ominite'-iiiiytfiitiiEife imasiteiiimr.iiEffi rrmunt All items in front showroom are priced at now 70V NO 29 News Talk Weather AM CJPJIS NewsTalk Radio Off Reg. Tag Price (See sujror dctalls) St fftamflbSiP NEAGH WEQHSPS8 CNE-R Hiir .10 "ZtZe eaetauftC 'o 'Pftoto- ao ckvt- ucco- tetuutC Watch the Inches Disappear with Thinology Energy Weight Loss Energy Thinology SALE PRICE MMf.

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