All I can say is "WOW!!!". What planet are you from? That sounds like socialism to me the difference being the quality and standard of service, I guess. This leaves me speechless with admiration. A medical clinic for 900 people? Electronic medical records? Instant appointments? Small prescription charges? No charges for medical treatment? Unbelievable. Two questions: You're not charged now but I assume you took out a medical insurance that covers all that? And I wonder what makes your fulltime doctors work in Massey? This is a major problem over here. Doctors simply can't be persuaded to work in rural areas wherever those may be. What motivates them where you live?
I live in a town of only 2,000, and we have a hospital, three medical clinics, and a couple of doctors in private practice. Often, the location can be an encouragement for people to want to live there, and I'm thinking that might be the case in Massey.
In the lovely US health care system, the hospitals in many small towns are struggling to survive due to so many people not being insured, and some states not taking advantage of Medicaid Expansion. .. See Map There is a hospital in the town (pop. 2500) nearest where my parents lived. If you went to their ER, and had good insurance, you would almost surely be admitted no matter what, and you had to fight tooth and nail to get released until the day Medicare hospital coverage ran out (20 days of skilled nursing care). In 2009 the hospital closed and moved to another town. Back on topic... How did the town Massey get it's name?
Thomas..... NO private insurance... Why, if everything is covered by our health care system.. I mean.. EVERYTHING... I have had 2 hip replacements and 2 shoulder replacements and never was there any charge … I had about 6 months of physiotherapy in each case, and again, no charge.. My wife had a knee replacement as well as an ankle replacement and again, no charge.. Not because I am a senior, but this is for each and every person living in Canada … Doctor's visits are all covered... Like I said... EVERYTHING.... The doctors up here make a wonderful living (I mean WONDERFUL) and have the life style of living up north, away from the hustle and pollution of the big city.. We in Sudbury have a medical school at the university and most who become doctors stay up in the north.. The hospital in Sudbury is a teaching hospital.. We don't have a huge shortage of medical people..
Oh yes,... I forgot to mention that if we have to travel to another city to see a specialist that we have been referred by our family doctor, we get paid to travel there...………….. for example... First of all, it has to be at least 100kms away from Massey to the city that we are going to... It is called a "Northern Travel Grant"... If it 200kms or over, we get an additional $100 for sleeping over as it is too far to travel back and forth in one day.. If it is 400kms or over (like Toronto) we get an additional $400 for the trip.. We are paid so much a km above everything.. For example, when we go to Sudbury, we get $50.00 for the trip.. Sudbury is 120kms from Massey.. When we go to Sault Ste. Marie, we get $255.00 for the trip.. Sault is just over 220kms.. We went to Toronto and we got $1050.00 for the trip.. This is paid by the Ontario Government to help those that live in rural areas and have to travel to see a specialist..
Very impressive, Steve. Does that mean you paid for that medical service during your working life so that you can now benefit from it?
It comes out of our taxes, and the government budget.. Naturally during my working years, I paid income tax and now I get the benefit of a fabulous pension.. That said, I still used the medical system then as well.. There wasn't anything that was and is charged to the patient.. NOTHING !!!! Between my wife and I, we have way more $$$$ per month than we need to live on up here in Massey.....
Small wonder that lots of Germans are crazy about your country. And that Harry and Megan also want to live there. As for your last sentence, Steve, there are not an awful lot of people who can say that about themselves.
Thomas... I worked for years and years in Montreal as a "Commercial Investment Consultant" and did very well at it... Really well.. My wife, on the other hand, was a real estate agent, also in Montreal, specializing in higher end houses..
Someone asked me where the name of Massey comes from... Years go, there was a family with the family name of Massey that opened up this village when they were in the lumber business.. The area was then called Massey Area after them, referring to the lumber camp.. Later with the coming of the railroad, it became Massey Station.. Later the name of Station was dropped and it was called just Massey... There is still the area in the village where the train station was.. Not a train stop anymore, of course, but the train line is still used every day.. It brings lumber to the Domtar Paper Mill in Espanola as well as steel from Sault Ste. Marie to the car manufactures down in southern Ontario.. The steel your car is made from comes from Sault Ste. Marie….. Lumber is also brought to the mill by huge lumber trucks that are very common on our highways..
There is in Oshawa the GM plant.. In Oakville there is the Ford plant.. Toyota is also made down there.. St. Thomas has a plant that makes school buses.. Windsor has a truck plant.. Chrysler also has a plant down there.. Just to name what I know.. There are more that I am not aware of... Please Google it and find out as I don't know... Very big manufacturing area in southern Ontario..
As far as the village of Massey goes... As of today, there are NO cases of the coronavirus in our area...…. We take super care and our poor village looks bare..... Our medical clinic is still open for emergency appointments while the doctors are available to talk to on the phone.... People have been generous in helping out those that need help by shopping for them.. Grocery and pharmacy store deliver to your door..