On-going Human Rights Violation: Woman Being Denied Basic Care
We in the disability human rights community have an opportunity to save a life. A quick summary: a woman with disabilities in Sudsbury, Ontario, Canada (Minna Mettinen- Kekalainen) is SUPPOSED to be receiving home care services. The North East Community Care Access Center has been denying her these services. Minna says this is because she had complained about their nurses because they had failed to follow her doctor’s orders. Minna was on a prolonged hunger strike, starving herself to death in an attempt to pressure the CCAC to provide her the services she needs. She has started eating again, at least for now. But she is still being profoundly neglected. Please take a few minutes to support efforts among disability rights activists to save her life.
1. First, read more about the situation at the following two links. You will also want to read the comments that people have left, because people are using the comments area at this blog page to exchange more information and ideas on how people can help: http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=572 and http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=573
2. Send an email to the following people to urge them to intervene on Minna’s behalf so she can receive the home care services that she is asking for: Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci Constituency Office email: rbartolucci.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services email: rick.bartolucci@ontario.ca
Minister of Health & Long-Term Care David Caplan: ccu.moh@ontario.ca
Non-Canadians can use these email addresses, too. If enough individual people write to them, they may take notice.
3. Consider also communicating with the North East Community Care Access Center on Minna’s behalf. This is the center that is refusing care to Minna (unfortunately there seems to be no email contact for them):
North East Community Care Access Centre (the centre that is refusing care to Minna)
Head Office/Sudbury Branch
1760 Regent Street
Sudbury ON P3E 3Z8
(705) 522-3461 or 1 (800) 461-2919 (Sudbury
To access the Long-Term Care ACTION Line call: 1-866-876-7658 or TTY: 1-800-387-5559.
(More detail on their Complaints and Appeals Process at http://tinyurl.com/aeu6vt)
4. Also consider communicating with the Maison Vale Inco Hospice–this is a different place (NOT related to the North East Community Care Access Center), and Minna would like to be admitted there.
Maison Vale Inco Hospice (the place Minna hopes to gain admittance to)
(705) 674-9252
1028 South Bay Rd. Sudbury, ON P3E 6J7
Website: http://www.maisonsudburyhospice.org/
Resident Care Coordinator Elaine Klym: elaine@maisonsudburyhospice.org
Executive Director is Léo Therrie
5. If you will be in Ontario on January 23, consider joining a protest and march on Minna’s behalf.
6. Join the Facebook group, “Minna’s Hunger Strike–Call to Action for an ALS Patient Denied Care” to learn the latest news on what is happening with Minna’s case and what people are doing to help. If you are not already a member of Facebook, it only takes a few minutes to sign up for a free account.
7. Please circulate this text further via your network of contacts in the disability and human rights communities, Facebook page, blog site, etc.
Thank you for taking action.
Learn vocabulary and feed the hungry at freerice.com
ReunifyGally 
Could people who does phones call
David Butler-Jones, ; Chief Public Health Officer; (613) 954-8524
jypsy
23 January 2009
Is there a fax # for North East? I’m more effective in writing. Has anyone received a response from them?
fridawrites
23 January 2009
jypsy and fridawrites — thank you both for your interest in Minna’s case. I hope you will both consider joining the Facebook group organized on Minna’s behalf as a more effective means of sharing information and ideas or asking questions–this group now has more than 300 people involved, including people who are closer to Minna’s case than I am, or who are living in Ontario and thus in more of a position to know how things work there.
But that said: I didn’t see a fax line listed specifically for the complaints and appeals department, but I looked elsewhere on the CCAC web site for their general contact information in the Sudsbury, Ontario branch, and found this fax number:
Facsimile 705.522.3855
Andrea Shettle, MSW
23 January 2009
Oh, and:
I’m not aware of people getting responses yet — but most of the action being taken has only been within the past 48-72 hours. Maybe someone in the Facebook group would know more. If you are new to Facebook, then it only takes a few minutes to set up an account and it’s free.
Andrea Shettle, MSW
23 January 2009
[…] article about what is happening here. You can read more blog posts about her plight here, here, here and […]
Please help to save Minna’s life « Sanabitur Anima Mea
24 January 2009
I’ve emailed, but got no response so far.
sanabituranima
25 January 2009
I would like to see. The bail out money come to mortgage payers and apartment renters. Pay offt the interest rates or a lump sum of the mortgage value. Either way would result in the mortgage companies getting their monies. Which in turn would mean the banks get their monies. Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac would get their monies . If the Feds give this bail out money to the Greedy banks. Then nothing out here changes. We all would have more money in our pockets to reinvest in the economy. The wealthy banks and Mortgage companies. Who were behind this recession will get all that tax money. We as tax payers will get nothing, but continued bills.
During this time of recession utility companies need to back off their power to shut off and leave poor people in the dark or with out water, gas or phone service. No matter how hard it gets on us out here, the people who work for the utilities feel nothing. Their pay is garanteed. Yet, they leave us without service. When they’ve given out to much in dividens, or pay raise or jets and trips abroad to the exec’s. They just go to the rate commission and have their rates hiked. They don’t suffer like I do if I spend to much on medical bills.
Banks, Utility Companies, Credit Card Com. charge late fees and higher interest and overdraft fees to poor people. When was the last time you heard of rich people having to cope with this extortion. Only the poor who can’t afford to pay any more are the ones being forced to pay more. How American or Christ like is that?
John Jacobs
3 February 2009
Reblogged this on Autism Candles.
Autism Candles
5 March 2021