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The Citizen, 2001-12-19, Page 16Thanks Wingham and District Hospital board member Bob Pike of Wingham, announced his resignation from the board recently. Pike was presented with a certificate of apprecia- tion by board chairman Judith Gaunt at the conclusion of the Dec. 6 meeting. (Advance Times photo) WDH receives info on operating plan Municipality of Huron East NOTICE The Municipal Office WILL BE CLOSED December 24, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, December 27 & 28, 2001 Council would like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! OIL OIL OIL OIL OIL FIGHT BACK! Dripless Oiling Most cars and trucks... Only5 9 .95 346 Huron Rd., Goderich GODERICHIMINEINIS 524-9381 ° 1-800.338-1134 OIL 2 PAGE 16, THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2001. Pike resigns from hospital board By Jim Brown Wingham Advance-Times Wingham and District Hospital Site Administrator Margret Comack told the hospital's board of gt,ver- nors last Thursday evening that information has been received from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care regarding the oper- ating plan process. The submission deadline is Feb. 1 but the hospital is requesting an extension to the following week in order to get the approval process in line with the submission. The joint executive committee meets Feb. 6. She added consulta- tions will be held across the province. Comack said the leader group is beginning to work on assumptions and to develop the templates for the cost centres. There are still some unknowns that have to be built into the plan such as the settlement with the Ontario Nurses' Association which won't be ratified until January or February. "Our intention is to have the oper- ating plan go to the WDH Resource Committee on Jan. 21 and to the board for approval on Jan. 24," she said. According to Comack, the accountability for balanced budgets will not be put into place until the multi-year funding plan is initiated. She added the minister also announced that with 'the escalating and not yet defined cost of height- ened security initiatives, the funding for health 2002/2003 will be deferred to a later time. She noted the leadership group is working on several areas of the oper- ating plan which have been identi- fied as either over budget or high cost. These areas include the emer- gency department, laboratory referred-out tests and the CAT scans. "We have developed some processes for audits and analysis and will be working through the utiliza- tion committee and with the physi- cians to get some finer detail on these areas as a means of looking for potential solutions or practice changes," she stated. UNDERSERVICED AREA Comack said that South Bruce to the north and Seaforth to the south- west both have applied to the min- istry for underserviced designation to support physician recruitment. Since the amalgamation of town- ships last year, the boundary lines have shifted and some new arrange- ments are being requested that affect the underserviced catchment area originally defined for Wingham. Comack indicated they are analyz- ing the postal codes of the patients to define the Wingham catchment area and then discuss any impact a pro- posed change might have on Wingham with the MOHLTC. Board member Verna Steffler said they should look at the postal codes from five years ago when Wingham first got the designation. Norm Fairies indicated this came up at the last district health council meeting. "The ministry has no handle on this at all," he stated, adding the situ- ation somehow has to be addressed at the ministry level. ACCREDITATION Comack said the preparation and submission of the consolidated stan- dards documents for the four hospi- tals undergoing accreditation in February have been completed. The accreditation process will be integrated across the sites with teams that comprise members of all hospi- tals. The accreditation will take four days. She noted the clinical teams will be site specific. She added all eight hospitals will be accredited in 2004. OTHER ISSUES Bioterrorism and security for the hospitals are other issues the partner- ship is working on. Also being discussed at the HPHP level is the recruitment and retention of health professionals and an under- serviced designation for both Huron and Perth Counties. Check out The Citizen's WEBSITE at www.northhuron.on.ca By Jim Brown Wingham Advance-Times Bob Pike of Wingham tendered his resignation to the Wingham and District Hospital board last Thursday evening. The'resignation was accepted, with regrets, by the board. His seat on the board will not be tilled at this time. His term concludes the end of June, 2002. Pike told the board meeting that due to his recent appointment by the Ministry of Health, a conflict of interest was created. He will be look- ing after the finances for Health Care in Ontario. "The conflict is not in regards to the board, but with the ministry of health," he stated. He resigned his seat on the Huron Perth Hospitals Partnership's joint executive committee last Wednesday By Jim Brown Wingham Advance-Times More people were immunized this year than last year. Clinical leader for the rehabilitation centre Pat Pietrek informed the Wingham and District Hospital board that 616 people attended the commu- nity flu vaccine clinic held in October. Also, Pietrek reported on a disaster exercise, called Code Iron, held Nov. 20. The scenario involved 26 casual- ties at the North Huron Wescast plant. It was a co-operative effort involv- ing F. E. Madill Secondary School, the Twp. of North Huron, the various emergency response partners and the hospital. She noted the exercise was a resounding success. Clinical leader of in-patient servic- es Liz Phelan said the event took four months of planning. "The 26 high school students did an excellent job." She noted they learned a lot from the exercise. One weakness that was identified was security and identifica- tion. "We are more prepared now than we were four months ago'," said Phelan. She estimated another disaster exercise would be held in about 18 months time. NEW EQUIPMENT Pietrek reported the new equipment is in use in the diagnostic imaging department. Technical staff and radi- ologists are pleased with its perform- ance. The next phase is the installation of the PACs and this will begin in the near future. Renovations have been made to the former ultrasound room for the PACs equipment and for a new radiologist work area. evening. He was on the committee's finance committee. Pike noted he has served many years on the board, first during the 1980s, and then again beginning in the mid-1990s. "I enjoyed every minute of it," he said. As well as having a lot of respect for the people who have served on the board, he has a lot of admiration for the people who volunteer their dine. According to Pike, the board has weathered many challenges over the years, including the threat of closure. "We responded well-to the possibil- ity of closure," he stated. "And that response led us to where we are today." He said the Wingham and District Hospital is a viable institution which serves the people well. Pike noted the Wingham board has • Ultrasound procedures are being done in the recently renovated south portion of the former change room/storage area. Pietrek noted two technologists from the laboratory recently attended training workshops specifically designed for the chemistry analyzer. She reported the partnership's oncology repatriation team has met with a team from the London Regional Cancer Centre to discuss a care delivery model educational needs in preparation of developing the service at Stratford and Wingham hospitals. The anticipated deadline is Feb. 1. According to Pietrek, it is estimat- ed that 1,200 chemotherapy visits can be repatriated to the Wingham hospi- tal over the next three years. done a lot to enhance the vision of the partnership and did a lot to accom- plish that vision. "I am proud of the people who were involved in the process," he said. Pike stated the hospital has a strong leadership team. He added it was an absolute pleasure to work with Vice President Margret Comack. "We have never gotten to the stage where we take people for granted," he stressed. The board has supported its leaders so they can continue to do the those things that they do. Pike commented the leadership team has admirably coped with the restructuring not only in the hospital, but within the partnership. He noted that last Wednesday was a tough night, in resigning from the JEC. "It was a cause of some sadness," said Pike. bd. told Vice President and site administra- tor Margret Comack reported there are new protocols and more complex plans for patients lately. • A group of physicians and nurses will be educated by London Regional Cancer. Centre staff, so they will be able to manage patients with higher acuity and also increase the volume of treatments that are provided. "We plan to begin the program with more complex patients and then increase the volumes later in the next year," she stated. Pietrek noted the Wingham hospital is a level 1 facility when it comes to chemotherapy. She explained the hospital can deliver a certain type of drug. "We are hoping to become a level two facility," she noted. • Immunizations up,