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PAGE 6 ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN April 23, 2020

ALL AREA
ALL AREA

Roads Dangerous drive

FROM PAGE 1 A Michigan State Trooper and a 20-
year-old female were transported to a
will take place through Canton local hospital with non-life threatening
Township, Livonia, Northville injuries at about 6 a.m. last Saturday.
and Plymouth and is expected to The accident took place at M-14 near
begin in the spring or fall of next Sheldon Road in Plymouth Township
year, depending on available when the female driver was unable to
stop and crashed into the rear of the
funding. No cost estimates for patrol car. The trooper was seated in
the expanded project were the vehicle on the right shoulder of the
announced. road when the accident occurred.
Cross said that regular main- Officials said the heavy traffic and the
tenance and repairs would take number of people driving too fast for
place as needed and would conditions at the morning hour
include pothole repairs or other required them to call additional troop-
issues. She noted that traffic vol- ers to the area to deal with 20 other
umes have decreased by more vehicle accidents. In a separate inci-
than 50 percent on all roadways dent, a 37-year-old Milford man was
in the area during the coron- killed when his car crashed into a
semi-truck parked on the shoulder of I-
avirus pandemic. 275 near Ann Arbor Road at about 2
Hospital a.m. Monday, April 20. Troopers said it
appeared the hazard lights on tractor-
trailer were activated when the car
struck the trailer. The truck driver was
FROM PAGE 1 not injured in the incident.

tal.
Employees at the hospital Meal assistance available for seniors
have also alleged to news media
that Beaumont has been hoard-
ing much needed personal pro- Michigan recently received have left many family care- gram have been receiving food the MDHHS coronavirus web-
tection equipment (PPE) at a additional federal funding to givers unable to assist older delivery that covers multiple site.
warehouse. One employee told help provide meals to older loved ones. meals during the week, through Northville Senior Services,
WXYZ Channel 7 that there were adults as the state responds to To abide by physical distanc- the program managed by Wayne part of the Northville Parks and
“pallets and pallets of medical the COVID-19 pandemic. These ing of at least 6 feet, meal sites County and a local Area Agency Recreation Department, also
supplies” in the warehouse. programs enable Michigan resi- have also been temporarily on Aging. offers wellness checks conduct-
Beaumont Chief Operating dents 60 years and older to closed, including the noon-time Seniors who need extra sup- ed by local volunteers. To learn
Officer Carolyn Wilson said the obtain meals through home meal provided at Allen Terrace, port at this time can now sign more, contact Joyce Drever at
warehouse is used to supply delivery and pick-up services. the city-owned and operated up for assistance, including (248) 305-2851 between 9 a.m.
other Beaumont facilities with The need for these services senior resident community in meal delivery, delivery of non- and 1 p.m., Monday through
the protection gear which has has increased as measures to Northville. Residents regis- perishable food items, and daily Friday or email her at jdrev-
been in short supply across the slow transmission of COVID-19 tered for the congregate pro- wellness-check calls, through er@twp. northville.mi.us.
country.
“We're moving supplies in and SMART further reduces bus service routes
out, and its with gratitude that
our supply chain has been able to
get those supplies to keep our SMART implemented fur- substantially lower demand and ”
staff safe. We're not hoarding any- ther bus service reductions last a desire to control and limit
thing -- we're using supplies,” week as a way to better match deployment of our drivers,” This crisis is demonstrating
Wilson said. service on the road with the said Robert Cramer, deputy how important our service is for
Employees also questioned reduced demand in light of the general manager of SMART.
the failure of Beaumont to offer Stay Home Stay Safe initiative. “While transit workers aren't the public health and well-being in the region.
the use of temporary morgue Officials said that ridership always acknowledged for the
facilities constructed in the ware- is at 80 percent less than a typi- frontline roles in public emer-
house to other hospitals. cal weekday, which has prompt- gencies, this crisis is demon- shuttles and Dial A Ride serv- senger level.
“It is in use for Beaumont as ed SMART officials to reduce strating how important our ice will not operate. SMART will continue free
an overflow temporary morgue. service an additional 40 per- service is for the public health To protect against over- fare, rear-door boarding, and
We are not licensed as a morgue, cent. Since SMART implement- and well-being in the region. crowding and promote social yellow chain separating drivers
we're not able to offer that service ed the initial 30 percent reduc- Our drivers and supporting staff distancing for riders (maintain- from passengers, mid-route
to others,” Wilson said. tion, ridership has leveled off have been commendable ing a minimum of 6 feet cleaning and regular electro-
Wilson said Beaumont will and remains steady. throughout this on-going crisis.” between passengers whenever static spraying of all buses until
remain on “standby” in prepara- “To ensure SMART can Service frequency is based possible, SMART will place the end of the emergency, offi-
tion for a second surge of the maintain its commitment to on Sunday service hours, with additional buses along the cials said.
coronavirus but will be reopened. provide essential trips during the addition of commuter busiest corridors, at the ready, Updates on SMART service
“We're carefully watching that the COVID-19 pandemic, we routes, according to a statement to join buses in service that are can be found at www.smart-
second curve but we are getting are adjusting service due to a from SMART officials. SMART at or reaching a crowded pas- bus.org.
more and more comfortable that
we will be reopening Wayne as an
acute care hospital in the near
future,” Wilson said.
In a prepared statement,
Beaumont suggested that
patients who would normally
seek emergency or trauma treat-
ment including heart attacks,
strokes, seizures or other serious
injuries use the freestanding
emergency center in Canton
Township which is “open 24/7 to
care for non-COVID-19-related
medical emergencies.” That
facility is located at 7300 North
Canton.
Dingell and Tlaib wrote to Fox
again last Friday and expressed
“deep concerns” they have heard
from staff and community mem-
bers that the closure of
Beaumont Wayne would have a
negative impact on the region.
“We write to follow up on our
letter dated April 14, 2020 regard-
ing the closure of Beaumont
Wayne Hospital during the
COVID-19 pandemic,” wrote
Dingell and Tlaib. “Since that
time, we have heard from numer-
ous employees, families of
patients, local elected officials,
and other critical stakeholders
expressing concerns about this
decision and the impact it will
have on communities.”
The lawmakers followed up
with a number of questions in an
attempt to understand the
Beaumont business plan for a
number of hospitals. The law-
makers cited concerns that
Beaumont is targeting union
members for layoffs and elimina-
tion of those jobs.
The lawmakers asked if
Beaumont employees were enti-
tled to hazardous duty pay as well
as other questions about the
financial stability of Beaumont,
Michigan's largest health care
system.