HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1997-04-09, Page 1VOL. • 124. WK.15
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9,1997
Hospital board fears
impact of changes
Loss of staff, infection among concerns
by Margaret Stapleton
Some members 6f the board
of governors at Wingham and
District Hospital are concerned
that recent cost-cutting measures
may compromise patient care.
Two members of the hospital
medical staff, Dr. Brian. Hanlon
and, Dr. Marie Gear; both voiced
,'concern's at the April .board
'meeting about moves to elirri
'nate the position of niglt.switch-
board operator and the consoli-
dation of all patients to ..the hos
:pital's: second floor..
Verna Steffler, a board mem-
;..ber, also had a number of Anes-'
tions.about the- proposed
changes..
As a result; the ' medical . advi-
sory. committee and admintstra-
tion. will meet to fully explore.
the ,potential irhpact the changes,
inay :have, on, patient • care. Staff
members -also . will be welcomed
to make written submissions of
their concerns to ;Lloyd.Koch,
executive director.
Prov. incial funding for. the
1.997-98 fiscal .year at the hospi-
tal has been cut by 7:2 per cent
or $586,000. To: implement •the
, cut, the hospital has taken, a
number of cost-saving measures,
including the lay-off of four
•time: registered; nurses, one nurse
manager and once licensedprac-
tical nurse, effective in June.
In his report, Director of
Nursing Bili Woodley :outlined a
number of concerns .about the
• May 1 move of all patients to .the
hospital's second floor. 'Currently
chronic patients occupy the. hos-
::pitals' first floor:'
Woodley outlined two areas of,
concern, including •bathing and
the transporting of patients to the
• first floor Terrace Room for
•meals and`•programs.;He said all
bathing can be 'done: on the sec-
ond
floor unless .there is a high
census of patients, so he does, not
anticipate any problems:
' Woodley also has scheduled a:
nurse for four; hours. a day, seven
days a week, to take patients to
and from the -Terrace • Room.
However, he added, volunteers
will be requiredto" offer assts
tance
Gear said she believes the
move to the .second floor May
prove to be a ::"nuisance" -for
nurses who will be requiredto,.
transport chronic • patients ' from
the second floor .down to the . -
Terrace Room: "Frankly, I can't
see ithappening," she said.
"Whatabout the programs
(which run out of the Terrace
• Room)? We have this beautiful
room; it would :be:, a shame if . we ,.
can't use it,". Gear said:
8 w a Sp 0t Sa itl 3'" x r.
N"• Y nh� r • „:i
d+Y• rS '�T 3: a 4
65" INCLUDES G.S.T.
Steffler asked if there are any
plans for use of the .first floor
area currently, occupied, by
chronic patients.. Koch said there .
is -no plan at present to renovate.
. the area. or shift programs.
"We're going to take it step-
by-step," he said.: . .•
Containment area •
Like 'many hospitals,
Wingham and District Hospital
has taken measures .`to contain
infection.
: Staff members' have.•be:en
trained at in-service sessions by
Woodley and Nancy Brown of :.
the laboratory: Woodley noted
that the hospital ,has had up to
four MRSA virus patients at a:
time, and ifhandled properly, the:
infection 'does not provide a-;
health .risk. •
However, Woodley added, he.,
will designate two second floor
rooms, one ` for men and, one for ..
women, to be used by MRSA.
patients.
Of concern to Hanlon is the'
.move toeliminate ,the switch-
board operator nightly ,:from 9
p:m until 6 a.m. and have the
nursing supervisor answerthe
telephone using a wireless sys-'
tem .• "It's very pricey 'to have •a
nurse answer' the phone•,". he
commented.
See 'Tue' page 2
No tax hicrea
••Property, owners in
Bruce won't' see ; an
increase •in 'the county tax
rate, this year, but• the..
finance chair says it could
be a different story next
year.
Bruce County council
set its 1.997 budget :at
$32,4: million. A $423,000 •
surplus from last year,
-~largely due' to welfare
cut's, helped, the county
absorb a 19.6: per cent
drop in provincial grants.
,But finance chair Winston
Hollis .said getting the.• bot-
tom line to a Zero per cent
tax increase meant cuts for
most departments, includ-
ing a 30 per cent reduction
in' the -road' construction
budget. ' r
•Next year, •Bruce
Herb McQuillan, the eldest senior with the
Lucknow Legion Seniors' Dining Outprogram, cuts
the 1st anniversary cake with the help of June
Pyette, of Branch 309. The group, .which was 150
strong on Wednesday, celebrated : the anniversary
with lunch; and entertainment. Volunteers of the
program were also honored with flowers.
e cpects to lose its remain-
ing $2.5 million in provin-'
cial 'funding. Hollis .•
,wouldn't "pred'ictwhat`
impact that will have: on
the tax bill, abut the "county '
is building up its working
capital reserves as a.hedge
against the cost of•provid-
ing; services downloaded
from the province; in• the
'megawrreek' announce-
ments. • .
• That build up includes a
$423,123 transfer of last.
year's surplus to a work-
ing capital reserve, which
prompted Lindsay Reeve
Milt McIver to ask "when
do we say enough is
enough?"
"It's probably a good
practice, but 1 question
why in a year ,of restraint
ruce
(
we 'can double that
reserve," 'McIver, said after
hearing the 1996 year end
report that..Was presented
on budget day:
"We ;don'tknow what
business we're going to be
in," replied clerk treasurer
-Bettyanne Bray.. "I predict
my report and the budget
'in `98 will look much dif-,
ferent from 'what youtsee.
this year."
• Bray explained that
"unusual circumstance"
including the province's
welfare cut allowed the
county to 'run surpluses in
1995 and 1996.
"With -the changes that
are coming, cash flow will
increase .tremendous)y,
Administrator: ,Wayne
Jamieson said about the
need' for a 'larger working
reserve fund,:
Hollis called this year's
budget "fair and .responsi-
ble." It's. the second con-
,secutive year for a zero
per cent increase in county
taxes,. which have gone up
just .21 per cent in the• past
four years. Hollies report
points out that the county
is debt` free and has
healthy' reserve funds but
he wouldn't predict what
taxpayers will see next
year.
"I don't. think -anyone
has 'any idea what it's
going* to look like. We
know there's no "
more
funds coming from the
province," Mollis said. "It
seems to me. it's going to
be whole new structure."
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