By ALLISON DUNFIELD

Globe and Mail Update

Wednesday, March 6 – Online Edition, Posted at 5:28 PM EST
Provinces need to be part of the solution in fixing the national health-care system, Manitoba Premier Gary Doer told the Romanow commission Wednesday in its second day of public hearings.

Mr. Doer, who spoke to the commission at a downtown Winnipeg hotel, outlined some of the initiatives Manitoba has taken in order to make its system more efficient and even marketable.

He made note of a new, $25-million cardiac-research centre set to open in Winnipeg in two years and its partnership with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

The partnership for research on heart disease is the Mayo Clinic's only partnership in Canada and will be one of only three in the country.

Not only does this clinic offer health-care benefits to Manitobans, Mr. Doer said, but also it has "market applicability" to also become part of Manitoba's future economic growth, Mr. Doer told the commission. "It's also got applications for the international marketplace."

"We see connections between investing in research and development and economic growth and patient care," Mr. Doer said.

Manitoba has also switched a for-profit health centre into a non-profit centre and in doing so has doubled the number of procedures, he said.

"The patient needs to be able to be flexible on patient care," Mr. Doer said.

Manitoba has previously outlined seven priorities for health-care reform. It believes expanding home care and continuing-care services will help to decrease acute-care costs. The government's position is that discharging patients from the hospital early and caring for them at home will cost the government less.

"In a primary-care way, I think Manitoba spends more money per capita on home care than any other province in Canada."