The Citizen, 1997-02-12, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1997
Wingham Hospital Exec., action group to plan strategy
By Margaret Stapleton
Advance-Times Staff
The executive committee of the
board of governors at Wingham
and District Hospital and members
of the local action committee
formed to save the hospital will
meet in thee near future to come up
with a common strategy for the
next phase of hospital restructuring.
The motion that the two groups
meet came abou after considerable
debate at the February hospital
board meeting, a debate which
revolved around the issue of just
who does speak for the hospital.
The action committee was
formed late last year after the
Huron-Perth District Health
Council's task force released three
options on hospital restructuring,
all of which would have limited the
role of the Wingham hospital. The
action committee was comprised of
interested local citizens with Vema
Seaforth hospital funding cut 7.1%
The Seaforth Community
Hospital has received notification
from the provincial Ministry of
Health (MOH) that the hospital's
1997/98 funding allocation from
the Ministry will be reduced by
$317,886. This represents a 7.1 per
cent cut from the hospital's present
MOH funding base of $4,467,300
and brings the hospital's total
funding reductions from the
Ministry to approximately
$645,000 over the past four years.
Bill Thibert, Seaforth Commun-
Wingham Hospital budget
hit by 7.2% cut from prov.
By Margaret Stapleton
Advance-Times Staff
The provincial health ministry
has cut 7.2 per cent from the
Wingham and District Hospital's
1997 budget.
This year’s cut is more significant
than the approximately four per
cent cut the hospital faced in the
last fiscal year. In dollar figures,
this year's cut amounts to $586,000.
Lloyd Koch, executive director,
said in a telephone interview after
the February meeting of the
hospitals board of governors, that
the funding cut is significant and
will present certain challenges to
implement. An operating plan will
be developed this month to deal
with the amount cut, says Koch,
and presented to the board for its
Clinic
on hold
By Margaret Stapleton
Advance-Times Staff
The $1.5 million medical clinic
proposed to be built adjacent to
Wingham and District Hospital has
been put "on hold" until the
hospital's future role has been fully
defined.
Lloyd Koch, hospital executive
director, said the clinic is on hold
until the current restructuring
process is over and the role of the
hospital determined.
Early last summer, the hospital
Continued on page 23
Steffler, hospital board member, its
chairman.
The action committee developed
its own option for hospital
restructuring and presented it at a
series of six public meetings prior
to the DHC open house Dec. 12 in
Wingham. Once the task force
revealed its preferred option for
hospital restructuring - a plan
which would sec all eight hospitals
remain open with a common
administration and governance
structure - another scries of
meetings were held.
The health council selected a
restructuring model very similar to
the one proposed by the joint
liaison committee consisting of
hospital administrators and
chairmen and vice chairmen.
At last week's meeting, Bob Pike
presented a motion on behalf of the
Wingham hospital executive
committee. In the motion, the
action committee was thanked for
ity Hospital CEO, expressed both
shock and disappointment with the
Ministry's announcement. He noted
that many small rural hospitals
were hit with large reductions (up
to eight per cent) which will be
very difficult to absorb since they
already operate at minimum
staffing levels. He indicated that no
special consideration was given this
year to the unique needs of small
hospitals as the level of funding
reductions (four to eight per cent)
were the same as for the larger
urban hospitals.
approval.
In a report of the resource
committee at last week's hospital
board meeting, Bob Pike said that,
while the cuts are significant,
declining activity at the hospital in
the last five years has made them
less severe and has meant no
impact on patient care.
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its contribution, but it stated that
any future actions or presentations
be undertaken by the hospital board
and that citizens take their concerns
to hospital board members.
Explaining the position of the
executive committee, Pike said he
believed at this juncture in the
process, it is crucial that the
hospital have one voice. If the
health council accepts the report of
the task force, the preferred option
will be forwarded to the health
services commission and its
chairman, Duncan Sinclair, are
expected to visit the area later this
year or even next year.
Dr. Brian Hanlon asked, "Are
you saying the citizens of this
community can't keep up the
pressure tactics (to save the
hospital)?"
Dr. Marie Gear said she was
"shocked and amazed...(The action
committee) stirred the citizens of
this area in a way this board never
In addition Thibert expressed his
frustration over the fact that this cut
is being done in isolation of the
hospital restructuring study
presently being carried out by the
Huron/Perth District Health
Council. He stressed that hospital
planning is to be conducted on a
district or regional basis but these
cuts are inappropriately being
implemented on an individual
hospital basis.
The Ministry of Health has set
March 27 as the date for receiving
the hospital's 1997/98 Operating
Plan. Though not ruling out the
possibility that staff layoffs may
need to take place to achieve this
Ministry-imposed target Thibert
stressed that everything possible
will be done to maintain existing
staff positions while ensuring the
continued delivery of excellent
quality patient care. "We are
fortunate to have hard working and
dedicated physicians and hospital
staff, "Thibert said. "Through our
cooperative "team" approach I have
confidence in the hospital's ability
to meet this additional challenge."
could and this is the thanks they
get?"
"The process (at the local level)
has been good," replied Pike. "But
the education stage is over." He
added that the board should work in
concert with the other eight
hospitals in Huron-Perth to best
serve the needs of the community.
"The education stage is not
jver...The fight (to save the
hospital) is not over; it's just
beginning," argued Gear.
John McDonald agreed with Pike
and said he believed the joint
liaison committee should be in
charge and allowed to come up
with a workable plan.
However, Marie McIntosh said
the action committee had
galvanized the community in the
fight to save the local hospital.
"We're all working toward the
same thing," said Pike. "If we stand
with one voice that's the way to get
the best result. The joint-liaison
committee route is the best."
Murray Hunter of Wingham said
he is involved with the board and
with the action committee and said
that both have the best interest of
the hospital at heart. He said he did
not like the impact the motion
would have on action committee
members who worked so hard to
stir the public.
Lloyd Koch, hospital executive
director, said the action committee
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had served its purpose of educating
and galvanizing public sentiment.
However, he said he believed a
mixed message may have been
conveyed in the media as to the
position of the local hospital.
"People hear me (on the radio or
television) and they hear the
comments from a board member
and action committee member. The
public and the other hospitals ask,
'What's up?' We have to explain
that the action committee is a
separate entity."
"I don’t see where the conflict is,"
said Gear. "A conflict in
personalities maybe."
Chris Dickson asked if there had
been any attempt for the board and
the action committee to come
together. McIntosh agreed that she
would like to see the two bodies
working together.
"The board should take it upon
itself to become the action
committee and go forward as a
board," Koch suggested.
In the subsequent vote, the
executive committee motion was
soundly defeated. Steffler abstained
from the debate and the vote. Later
in the meeting, Dickson put
forward a motion that the executive
committee and the action
committee meet to form a plan of
continued action. The motion
passed and a meeting has been
arranged.
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