MHA Eddie Joyce says "unsung heroes" of hospital committee deserve recognition

Joyce say the Action Committee consisted of Israel Hann, Gerald Parsons, Wayne Rose, Barry Wheeler, Bruce Randell and Agnes Brake who, as private citizens, kept the dream alive and lobbied on behalf of the residents of Western Newfoundland and Labrador.

Bay of Islands MHA Eddie Joyce says one of his proudest days will be when the first patient in Western Newfoundland doesn't have to travel to St. John's to receive radiation treatment for the dreaded disease, cancer.  He says they will be with family and friends in Corner Brook. Although Joyce wasn’t invited to last week’s event when the Premier accepted the keys to the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital, he says he has been part of the struggle to get a new hospital with a Radiation Unit and PET Scanner. 

“Along the way, I must recognize and thank the Action Committee which consisted of Israel Hann, Gerald Parsons, Wayne Rose, Barry Wheeler, Bruce Randell and Agnes Brake who, as private citizens, kept the dream alive and lobbied on behalf of the residents of Western Newfoundland and Labrador,” he says. “They were the unsung heroes, like Dwight Ball and Joy Buckle.”

Joyce says members of the Action Committee were also not invited, but he looks at the bigger picture. “That’s just a side show and I won’t be commenting but others  should comment as to why the Humber Bay of Islands MHA was not invited,” he says. “The bigger picture is people are much better served than when we first started this dream, which is now a reality.”

Joyce says recruitment for an Oncologist has been ongoing for a year and he looks forward to a positive announcement when they sign their contract.