Winnipeg Free Press http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/whats-a-couple-more-days-in-line-grandpa-buff-got- hurt-last-night-419762033.html

What's a couple more days in line, Grandpa? Buff got hurt last night

By: Paul Wiecek

So now we know.

If you’re like me — and I extend my deepest sympathies if you are — you’ve wondered at times over the years how it is that pro athletes in this town could get hurt one night and the team would already know the results of an MRI the next day.

Is there some special place the Jets and Winnipeg Blue Bombers send their players for MRIs that the rest of us who wait interminable months for the same scan don’t know about? Do the teams have their own MRI machines? Are they sending players to the States to get the scans done so quickly?

No, it turns out that all these years the Jets and Bombers have simply been jumping the queue and getting preferential treatment in the public health-care system.

We now know this — incontrovertibly and in the kind of detail that had the front offices of both the Jets and Bombers squirming Tuesday — thanks to a glorious piece of journalism this week by Free Press reporters Kevin Rollason and Jane Gerster.

Rollason and Gerster got their hands on a confidential report from the provincial auditor that flagged 92 cases between 2008 and 2016 in which people got unusually speedy MRI scans as "instances of potential preferential treatment."

Those on the receiving end of the suspected preferential treatment included a handful of local politicians, regional health bigwigs and donors.

But the overwhelming majority of the MRI cases flagged by the auditor during that period — 59 of 92 — involved Jets and Bombers.

The Jets made up almost half of the flagged cases — 44 of 92 — while the Bombers accounted for another 15 queue-jumpers.

When you consider these Jets didn't exist until 2011 — even though the period under review goes back to 2008— what becomes clear is that the quickest and easiest path to a quick MRI in this town has nothing to do with medical need and everything to do with being a member of the tiny cadre of coddled millionaires that is this city’s local NHL franchise.

The fact the Jets racked up almost triple the number of queue-jumpers as the Bombers — and did it in three fewer years — also tells you all you need to know about the pecking order of sports teams in this town, but that’s a column for another day.

Report should spark investigation Now, I suppose you could argue only the hopelessly naive or terminally idiotic would regard as revelatory the news that pro athletes get the same coddled treatment from the health-care system as they get everywhere else in their rarefied lives.

The world is full of sycophants and the news that local doctors and hospital administrators are apparently just as awed by reflected glory as, for example, at least half the media in this town is not exactly the Pentagon Papers now, is it?

But it’s one thing for the local broadcast rights-holders to give the teams they’re partnered with a free ride in the media and quite another for a doctor whose salary we’re all paying to bump his favourite player to the top of the list for an MRI scan which, as it happens, we’re also all paying for.

One thing is annoying but predictable, the other is simply outrageous. And that’s why heads rolled in Alberta back in 2009 when it emerged publicly that the Calgary Flames players and their families all received the H1N1 vaccine at a special clinic, even as schoolchildren in the province were being told they had to wait because there wasn’t yet enough vaccine to go around.

That was scandalous then and, in part, spawned a provincial public inquiry. This is unacceptable now, and should spark an investigation here.

Maybe I’m naive — I concede the terminally idiotic part — but I like to think that there is still value in ’s idea that the bedrock and inviolable principle that should underlie this country’s national health-care system is that your treatment is, at all times, dictated by medical need, not your fame or celebrity or ability to rip a one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle.

And, for what it’s worth, the Canada Health Act (1984) happens to agree with me and Tommy, making it crystal clear that a condition of the federal government’s annual transfer of huge health-care dollars to the provinces is that the provinces not allow precisely the kind of two-tier medicine the auditor appears to be describing in his report.

Look, I get the presence of the Jets and Bombers in this town generally brightens the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and, more broadly, serves roughly the same useful purpose to our society as gladiators did for the rulers of Rome: the mob is not storming the gates with pitchforks and torches if the mob is otherwise occupied with wondering why the Jets penalty kill is so lousy.

All of which is to say I think you can make a case that there is a broader public good benefiting us all that is served by a top-line forward bumping your grandma on the MRI list and getting a speedy diagnosis of that shoulder injury he suffered in a 6-4 loss to Carolina last night.

But then, let’s have that public debate, consider the merits of both sides and then decide as a society whether we want to maintain our single-tier system, but also add an extra little on-ramp for our pro athletes.

System 'a bit more equal for others' Or maybe we would conclude the opposite and demand that going forward, no one gets special treatment ever, and if the Jets and Bombers players need expedited treatment they can drive down to North Dakota and pay for it at a private clinic — just like hundreds and maybe even thousands of ordinary Manitobans do every year.

Plus, a half-hour wait in an idling car at the border in Emerson would do Dustin Byfuglien some benefit after all these years of chartered planes and five-star hotels. He could see how the rest of us who pay his $7.6-million annual salary still live.

Or the Jets and Bombers could, I suppose, buy their own MRI unit, for that matter. The internet tells me "a state-of-the-art 3 Tesla MRI machine" currently goes for $3 million brand new. Used ones fetch $150,000 to $1.2 million on the secondary market — chump change for a Jets team that paid Mark Stuart more than that this year.

Now, I have no idea if that’s workable and, frankly, I don’t care. But however it works going forward, what would be unconscionable is the continuation of the status quo, where we pretend one thing while quietly acquiescing with a nod and a wink that a health-care system built on the principle of equality for all is just a bit more equal for some than for others.

All of which is precisely what the Jets and Bombers are hoping we do, of course. The teams issued terse "no comments" to Rollason and Gerster, citing medical-privacy concerns.

So, a couple of things. First, the only thing the Jets and Bombers want to keep private is the fact their players have been quietly jumping the health-care queue for years.

Second, no one at this newspaper was ever going to ask the Jets or the Bombers about the details of what the expedited MRIs of Byfuglien or Drew Willy (examples from the auditor’s report) showed way back when; we simply wanted to know what makes the Jets and Bombers so special that their players should be allowed to cut in front of 21,323 of their fans (the MRI wait list as of last June).

And third, the whole idea that pro athletes have any entitlement to medical privacy when we are all paying their salaries in the form of tickets and the teams are being subsidized to a greater (Bombers) or lesser (Jets) extent by taxpayer dollars is, in itself, bogus.

You want your shoulder problem kept private? Get a real job and nobody will care.

Look, maybe some of these athletes flagged by the auditor got quick MRIs simply because they had an emergent medical need. The system in this province builds breathing room into waiting lists to deal with emergencies and it’s possible, I suppose, that if I hurt my shoulder playing touch football on the boulevard last night I’d have gotten the same quick scan that Willy got.

But the auditor obviously suspects otherwise or he wouldn’t have flagged all these cases involving local pro athletes in an explosive report that is going to resonate loudly and for a long time now that it’s become public.

Me? The idea that Drew Willy got his MRI in a jiffy simply because the Bombers couldn’t provide him with a competent offensive line makes me sick to my stomach.

Or maybe that’s just a gastrointestinal issue I’m having; who knows? An MRI could tell me for sure, I suppose — only it would take 24-27 weeks, the current average wait time.

If only I were a faster skater.

Winnipeg Sun http://www.winnipegsun.com/2017/04/18/health-minister-apologizes-to-prominent-manitobans- for-leaked-list

Health minister apologizes to prominent Manitobans for leaked list

BY JOYANNE PURSAGA, WINNIPEG SUN

The province’s health minister apologized on Tuesday to prominent Manitobans listed as possibly receiving expedited MRIs and vowed to find out how the privacy breach occurred.

Local media reports stated the province’s auditor general flagged 92 scans between 2008 and 2016, where preferential treatment may have sped up access. A leaked list reportedly included 59 professional athletes, including Winnipeg Jets and Winnipeg Blue Bombers players. It also reportedly included 14 donors, eight radiologists, six politicians, and five members of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

“I apologize to those individuals personally and on behalf of the department of health for their names and their health information being reported publicly,” said Minister Kelvin Goertzen.

The Winnipeg Sun is not reporting individual names due to privacy concerns.

The queue-jumping concern was first noted in an audit that found average MRI wait times in grew 92% between 2011 and 2015, from 12 to 23 weeks. As of June 2016, there were 21,323 Manitobans waiting for MRI scans.

But Auditor General Norm Ricard never revealed the names of the patients in his report, simply noting higher priority was sometimes given between 2011 and 2015 for “non-medical reasons,” including to members of pro sports teams who received scans within a day of referral.

Goertzen said he’ll request reviews on how the names were leaked and how professional athletes access medical treatment.

“We will ask the Ombudsman to look at how the information became public ... I don’t think that anyone should be phoned in an afternoon or an evening and be asked about their personal health information,” said Goertzen.

The auditor stressed Tuesday, as his audit had, that he found no proof the patients themselves sought to jump the MRI wait list.

“We have no evidence that they demanded preferential treatment. We are concerned that they may have been given priority treatment, unbeknownst to them, because of the way that the cancellation process works,” said Ricard.

When a cancellation occurs, Ricard said scheduling clerks can select patients to fill the spot from a “general cancellation list” of readily available individuals or from a list of those who haven’t yet been scheduled for a scan. Ricard wants health facilities to rely solely on the cancellation list instead, which already ranks patients by medical need.

“A more equitable process is always scheduling all the scans and then those who want to be on the cancellation list get their names on the cancellation list in some proper order,” he said.

In a statement, Interim NDP Leader Flor Marcelino said no NDP MLA attempted to cut the line for an MRI.

“No MLA from our caucus has ever sought, requested or knowingly received preferential treatment for medical services,” wrote Marcelino.

CBC Winnipeg http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/wrha-leaks-mri-audit-1.4074858

Investigation launched after medical information of Winnipeg Jets players, politicians leaked Leaked list suggests professional athletes, public figures may have received MRI tests sooner

By Kristin Annable, CBC News

The leak of a confidential document outing several public figures and professional athletes as possibly receiving preferential access to MRI scans has prompted the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to launch an internal investigation.

Several media outlets, including CBC News, were leaked a document prepared by the Office of the Auditor General of Manitoba as part of its research into its recent audit into the province's management of MRI services.

Athletes and government officials sometimes get quicker access to MRIs: AG The undated document names Winnipeg Jets players, politicians, medical professionals and senior WRHA management as receiving "potential preferential treatment" when it came to the speed in which they accessed MRIs.

Almost 60 professional athletes, six politicians, four senior WRHA managers and eight radiologists are named in the list.

One of the politicians is former NDP health minister . She gave CBC News consent to use her personal health information because she wanted to highlight how serious privacy is between a patient and a health-care provider.

Oswald vehemently denied that she ever asked for preferential treatment. She said she was listed for getting an MRI scan twice in one month because she became claustrophobic the first time and had to reschedule.

"When I was contacted by a reporter yesterday, out of the blue, and that reporter had information about dates and times and places about my health history that I did not consent to give, I found it very jarring and violated," Oswald, who is now the executive director of the Women's Health Clinic, said in an interview Tuesday.

"I am concerned for the women of Manitoba who see a story like this and wonder, 'Who could ever get a hold of my private information and use it without my consent?'"

'I suspect this was a deliberate act,' says auditor general

In response, the WRHA announced Tuesday that it is launching an internal investigation into the leak.

In an internal memo to staff, WRHA president and CEO Milton Sussman said the leak is a serious breach of the province's Personal Health Information Act, which states that organizations with access to personal health information are bound to protect the privacy of that information.

"Today, the WRHA commenced an internal investigation into how the names became public," Sussman wrote in the memo. "We are investigating how it happened and attempting to identify where the breach occurred."

Auditor General Norm Ricard said it was not his office that leaked the information, and the leak has put into question whether they should share confidential information with the province's largest health authority. He said the information was initially shared only with two members of the WRHA.

"We would think long and hard before sharing a detailed list again," Ricard told CBC News.

"We are not happy with it and we are very concerned that confidential information was released, and it certainly wasn't by someone in my office…. I suspect this was a deliberate act of leaking information."

Meanwhile, Manitoba's health minister wants the provincial ombudsman to launch an investigation of his own. Kelvin Goertzen told reporters on Tuesday that he is deeply troubled by the leak.

"I apologize to those individuals, personally and on behalf of the Department of Health for their names and their health information being reported publicly," he said.

"I think it is unacceptable and I will apologize to them individually as well."

Report shows public figures get quicker access

Ricard's report, released last month, raised questions surrounding whether public figures and athletes were jumping the queue and getting MRI scans faster than average Manitobans.

He concluded that there were instances in which patients received priority treatment for non- medical reasons, but he could not prove it was based on their status as a public figure or professional athlete.

About one-third of the persons of "influence" flagged by the auditor general's report had received scans on the same day they were ordered, the report found.

"Some of these patients got unusually quick scans," the report stated in part.

Ricard wrote that there is concern influential people may have been given priority to fill appointments made available by cancellations or last-minute no-shows.

The 43-page report also noted that as of last June, the average wait time for an MRI scan in the province was 23 weeks — almost twice as long as the wait five years earlier.

Ricard said his findings highlight the need for more Manitobans to be aware of the cancellation list, which is part of his recommendations. He told CBC News that public figures and those within the medical field ask to be put on the list, whereas average Manitobans may not be aware it exists.

Winnipeg Jets players get quick MRIs The report flags several Winnipeg Jets players as possibly receiving preferential treatment for MRIs.

An analysis of players' injury reports and the dates of their MRIs, provided in the document, found several instances in which a player was reported as injured and received an MRI the next day.

Dr. Brock Wright, the WRHA's senior vice-president of clinical services and chief medical officer, said the athletes do not get quicker access, but get quicker MRIs because of the seriousness of their injuries.

"Other patients with similar injuries, one would expect, would also get that kind of timely access to MRIs," he said.

"With a professional athlete, if they were denied that kind of appropriate access to their medical needs, that could have rather devastating consequences on their ability to return to work, given their profession is professional sports."

The WRHA does not track wait times for patients deemed "priority one," but the target is for patients to have a scan within 24 hours.

Wright noted that professional sports teams such as the Jets pay a fee for uninsured out-of- province athletes to get tests such as MRIs. The fee is "substantially more" than the cost to do the MRI, he said.

"That extra fee that they pay does not buy them preferred access," Wright added.

A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Jets declined to comment.

Several Winnipeg Blue Bombers were also listed in the leaked document.

A spokesperson for the CFL team declined to comment.

"We don't comment on treatment of our players in any regard, as those matters are between the team and the athlete," he said.

'No evidence' of queue jumping says WRHA Wright said the WRHA has found no evidence that anyone, including its executives, jumped the queue for an MRI scan.

An internal investigation into the auditor general's findings concluded that extenuating circumstances led to its four executives getting quicker access.

"We have no evidence whatsoever that anyone has been getting access to diagnostic imaging exams on the basis of who they know," said Wright.

He said in one instance, a senior WRHA manager who needed an MRI was in the building when a patient cancelled their appointment at the last minute. Rather than leave the appointment unfilled, the executive was called.

Two officials waited the appropriate time, and the other had a medical condition that required an expedited scan.

Sussman was one of the four executives named in the list. In the memo sent to staff, he denied getting faster service.

"I want to be very clear — I did not seek preferential treatment, nor was [I] told I was receiving it," he wrote.

"I did not believe I was receiving preferential treatment. None of the other senior leaders identified asked for or were told they were receiving preferential care either."

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) http://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/larkin-fleury-definite-possibility-for-jets-next-season- 1.728350

Larkin: Fleury definite possibility for Jets next season

Matt Larkin of The Hockey News joined the Big Show for some hockey talk including Minnesota's poor luck against St. Louis, the Leafs' chances of an upset over Washington and why Marc-Andre Fleury is a realistic target for the Jets to shore up their goaltending next season. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/little-makes-a-big-difference/c-288907994

Little makes a big difference Veteran forward didn't miss a beat after returning from injury by Mitchell Clinton @MClinton007 / WinnipegJets.com

The 2016-17 season didn't start the way Bryan Little would have liked.

After missing the final 25 games of the 2015-16 season with a fractured vertebrae, the 29-year- old played a mere 2:48 in the home opener against Carolina before suffering a knee injury that kept him out for another 23 games.

But when he returned, the veteran forward went on a tear.

He scored three goals in his first four games, and even played over 20 minutes in his first game back from the injury on Nov. 29.

Overall, he finished with 21 goals - the fifth time he's notched over 20 in his career - and 47 points in 59 games.

"He's one of those players around the league, has a quiet type of appreciation," said Winnipeg Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. "When coaches are setting up against your team that they talk about. Hearing the things that (assistant coach) Jamie Kompon says about playing against us, how they looked at players, looked at our team, and hearing what other coaches thought about it, Bryan's name was always one of those that when you start the game you might think he's one way, when you finish the game the coaches always comment how effective he is."

Little had a number of different wingers as the season unfolded, but he finished the season with Mathieu Perreault and Patrik Laine flanking him on either side.

His experience playing with some of the youth on the roster this season gave him an appreciation for the amount of growth those players made since training camp opened.

"These guys are growing up fast. They're becoming leaders on their own. Some of the best players on our team are the youngest," said Little. "I think they need to grow up fast and (well).

"Our young guys are only going to get better, and they're only going to improve."

Of course, improvement is something Little knows the whole team will need to do heading into next season. The seven-game win streak to finish the season is a nice footnote, but Little knows every player in the dressing room wants much more than that. They want to be playing past game 82.

Offensively, the Jets finished seventh in the NHL in goals scored (246) and goals scored per game (3.00). Where the improvement needs to come, according to Little, is at the other end of the ice, where the Jets allowed 255 goals - fourth most in the league.

"We score enough goals and we won quite a few games, but it's those losses and goals against are the biggest thing. We have to get better defensively," said Little. "I don't think this team is ever going to have a problem getting offense and scoring goals. We just have to work on keeping the puck out of the net."

Next season is also the final one on Little's five-year deal signed back in July of 2013. Cheveldayoff says what Little brings to the table earned him an extension back then, and while the salary cap will always provide a challenge, he's hoping to find a solution for both sides.

"When both sides are desirous of getting something done, it generally works out for both sides," said Cheveldayoff. "He can play a real solid 200-foot game, smart player, conscientious player, and someone we chose to extend once when the opportunity came. It goes back to the salary cap management question, you have to be judicious in how it works."

Little has seen what this team is capable of, and while things didn't go the way the club would have liked this season, he thinks it isn't far away from getting into the post season for the first time since 2014-15.

"We have a bright future. It's frustrating not playing for anything again and having that long summer that we've had before. I think everyone is looking at next year already," said Little. "We've shown what we're capable of at times this season, especially the last seven games. I think we have some real good stuff ahead.

"I definitely can't wait to get back next year."

FIRST GOAL BACK FROM INJURY After recording an assist prior to his knee injury in the home opener against Carolina, Little scored his first of the season in only his second game back.

NUMBER 400 Little recorded his 400th career NHL point this season, when he and Blake Wheeler assisted on Mathieu Perreault's goal against Montreal.