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Sudbury Regional Hospital reports healthy figures for 2004

BY TRACEY DUGUAY [email protected] There was a sense of optimism in the air Tuesday when Sudbury Regional Hospital (SRH) held its seventh annual general meeting of the corporation.
BY TRACEY DUGUAY

There was a sense of optimism in the air Tuesday when Sudbury Regional Hospital (SRH) held its seventh annual general meeting of the corporation.

Unlike the previous year, when a $600,000 deficit and stalled one-site hospital project dominated the conversation, the presentations made at this meeting contained good news and plenty of forward-thinking strategies.

LOUGHEED
With a sizable reduction in its deficit, now sitting at $66,494, a new strategic plan, stronger governance model, and a commitment by the provincial government to cover 80 per cent of the capital construction costs for the one-site facility, the future is looking much brighter for SRH.

Compare this to previous years, when the institution was cloaked in controversy and mired in debt. With the hospital in crisis, the provincial government appointed a supervisor and initiated an operational review of the organization.

?This caused us to very introspective over the past year,? said Tom Querney, chair of the board.

This introspection resulted in a thorough examination of the institution?s operating environment and discussions with its major stakeholders.

Querney explained they also performed a SWOT analysis, which assessed the hospitals ?strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.?

Using the data collected, the board created a strategic plan for SRH, outlining five key directions or areas to focus on over the next three to five years.

They include: sustainable, high quality care; a regional system of care; quality of work life, retention and recruitment; education and research; and a
supportive and committed community.

?Great effort has gone into balancing the needs and demands of the system, with the need to become more effective and efficient. How we manage the hospital is as important as the services we deliver,? said CEO Vickie Kaminski.

QUERNEY
The multi-year recovery plan has already demonstrated annual savings of more than $7 million. Kaminski said these savings were achieved by changing how the hospital delivers its service, not by cutting back on patient care.

?We have not reduced patient volumes and that continues to be a guiding principle for us as we carry on with the implementation of our multi-year recovery plan.?

The Ministry of Health reports an improvement in the institution?s performance over a three-year period.

?That means for the first time ever, the Sudbury Regional Hospital is performing better than the expected efficiency rate for hospitals in Ontario,? Kaminski said.

Other changes announced during the annual meeting included the appointment of Geoffrey Lougheed as the new president of the SRH board. He replaces Querney who has had the position for three years.

After thanking Querney and the rest of the board for their dedicated efforts, Lougheed closed the meeting on a humorous note by saying he?s not sure what it means when a hospital board elects the ?local undertaker? as president.

?We?ve seen the grave and we?ve come back.?

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