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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-02-18, Page 8Page A8 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Hospital to explore solutions to budget restrictions NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING The 132nd Annual Meeting of the Members will be held in the OFFICE BUILDING OF McKillop Mutual Insurance Company 91 Main Street South, SEAFORTH, Ontario on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. • To receive and approve the 2008 financial statement and . auditor's report: • To appoint Auditors; • To elect three qualified Directors for a term of three years; • To elect one qualified Director for a term of two years; • To approve amendments to the General By -Laws; • To approve an increase in the remuneration to be paid to the Directors of the Corporation; • To transact any other business that may properly come before the meeting; • The retiring Directors are Don McKercher, Ed Van Miltenburg and Bert Vandendool who are eligible for re-election. • Any qualifying policyholder wishing to seek election must file their intention to stand for election in writing with the Secretary of the Company at least seven days in advance of the Annual Meeting. (By -Law No. 21 (d) ). By order of the Board of Directors McKillop Mutual Insurance Company Ken Jones Seaforth, Ontario Secretary-Tresurer-Manager signal -star staff It's not as simple as bandaging up wounds for Ontario hospitals, and their ever -tightening budgets are of constant concern. While some hospitals in the South West Local Health Integration Net- work (LHIN) service have begun to announce service cuts, staff layoffs and centralized services, Goderich's Alexandra Marine and General Hos- pital intends to meet budget require- ments without elimination of patient care services or staff. AMGH is among the majority —17 out of 20 hospitals in our LHIN that have submitted balanced budgets for the 2008-2009 and 2009 — 2010 fiscal years, but according to Chief Executive Officer Bill Thibert, small changes in operations may be neces- sary" in order to keep the facility out of the red. Despite submitting a balanced budget to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, AMGH showed a deficit of $229,379 as of December 2008. The number was down from the $257,562 deficit shown in No- vember 2008. "Our deficit has been steadily de- clining," said Thibert. "We've been controlling our costs reasonably well." A reduction of revenue dollars has been the major factor in the cur- rent deficit, Thibert said. He reported that AMGH has experi- enced a drop of $209,000 for the April GIF Select Income You are inv to an exclusi'. IncomePlus semi "Isn't it time you turned your retirement thinking on its hemi? LEARN HOW INCOMEPLUS CAN OFFER GUARANTEED INCOME FOR LIFE. Tuesday March 3, 2009 © 7:00pm Maitland Golf & Country Club North Harbour Road, Goderich Hosted by: Phil Paquette, CFP, EPC Certified Financial Planner Dundee Private Investors Inc. 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'Insurance products ' . • ► • through Dundee Insurance Agency Ltd. - December 2008 period. Reduced OHIP revenue, semi and private ac- commodation revenue combined with a decrease in the projected number of American visitors has all contributed to the decline in revenue, but Thibert pointed out that the hospital has in- coming one-time funding dollars that will enable the facility to offset these numbers by year-end. AMGH is set to receive $120,000 from the Ministry to finish its commit- ment to the funding for the Fire and Life Safety renovation project; and is anticipating a refund on employee benefit costs over the past year "It's safe to say that our one-time funding will enable us to meet our budget targets, and the hospital will continue to review our costs to find ways to save dollars." Under Ontario law it's illegal for hospitals to run deficits. Thibert said the worry for the future is not the current deficit, but whether the province will stick to its commit- ment to provide hospitals with a 2.1 - per cent funding increase. There is concern for the 2009-2010 budgets beginning this April for all Ontario hospitals that stems from the ministry's uncommitted increase. Thibert said that hospitals have been advised to use the 2.1 as a target fig- ure for the time being. "For our sector, that 2.1 isn't really enough to offset our costs," Thibert said, adding that medical supplies, staffing and energy costs alone are in excess of the figure. "This year i believe we're going to reach our target of completing the fis- cal year in a balanced financial posi- tion. It's 2009-2010 that will be more significant," he said. "What's impor- Sears robbed of Valentine's Day got off to a rocky start for one Goderich business that fell victim to robbery. Goods were taken totalling an estimated $40,000, including televisions, DVD players, vaccum cleaners, a washer, dryer; range and even a large safe. Huron OPP report that sometime be- tween 12:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Feb. 14, unknown suspects broke into the Sears tant is our overall objective, to balance without elimination of services." In order to balance the next fiscal budget, the hospital has been internal- ly generating ideas on cutting costs that will have the least significant amount of impact on patient care and staffing as possible. AMGH. is cur- rently looking into reduced spending on capital equipment for starters, and Thibert said that the facility will con- tinue to go to a one -floor operation for medical and surgical patient care when the patient census is low on the first and second floor units. "It's something that we can con- sider when the opportunity presents itself," he said. "This enables us to op- erate more efficiently and does result in labour and supply cost savings." One -floor operation is something that AMGH has successfully imple- mented in the past to address staff va- cation time and low volume. Currently, AMGH is within one per cent of their promised 2009-2010 budget, with approximately $150,000 more dollars to fill the gap. "We're quite close with no result- ing service or staffing cuts," Thibert said. He noted that this is conditional upon the Ministry providing the 2.1 per cent increase as previously an- nounced. If the Ministry fails to provide that funding figure, AMGH would be required to find an addition- al $315,000 to meet the 2009 - 2010 budget. "That would be of great concern, and the impact provincially would be dramatic," he said. "It's challenging enough now." Thibert added the hospital will con- tinue to look for additional medical, nursing and support staff as required. $40,000 in goods store located on Huron Road. The suspects were able to bypass the alarm system be- fore the hefty heist, and police believe the suspects used a stolen cube van to commit the crime. Anyone with information about this crime or the suspect vehicle is encouraged to call the Huron OPP at 1-800-310-1122 or CRIME STOPPERS- 1-800-222-T.I.P.S. .Rising Rivers Southwestern Ontario paid dearly for its winter thaw last week, with flooding in many low-lying areas aggravated by damaging ice jams in others. In Bayfield, a marina filled with boats was destroyed when an ice jam broke up on the Bayfield River, smashing into riverside retaining walls. Photo by Cheryl Heath