Just what is the state of health care in Humboldt?
A crowd at Monday's Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce luncheon on that subject got the long answer to that question from Maura Davies, president and CEO of the Saskatoon Health Region (SHR).
Locally, Davies touched on a few matters, though the bulk of her presentation focused on provincial or regional concerns.
Davies thanked the local physician recruitment and retention committee made up of representatives from different agencies and the public for their work in the progress made on that front this year. The committee was struck in February of 2011 in response to a doctor shortage in Humboldt.
Humboldt now has 12 physicians, which is making a big difference, she said, adding that "you have fabulous physicians here."
This committee, she continued, has recognized the importance of physician recruitment and retention, and have not only been looking at how to make Humboldt attractive for physicians to come here, but also how to keep the ones already here.
Part of the attraction, Davies noted, is the quality of life doctors can get here, with a larger group of physicians. This allows them to better balance their work and personal lives.
The new hospital is also an attraction, she added.
The committee has made good progress, she said,
"But I think it's really important, though you have made gains, that we don't take the foot off the pedal," she said.
Doctor recruitment needs to continue to be a focus in Humboldt.
Davies also updated the community on the situation with St. Mary's Villa, the local long-term care home, which was much in the news this year. The attention was due to how the SHR handled the move of elderly residents out of the Villa's assisted living area, in order to make room for patients being displaced out of Dust Wing, which had structural issues.
"I've apologized for how it was handled," Davies said. "And lots of lessons were learned."
The provincial ombudsman released a report on the incident, and that report required the SHR to look at two things.
The first was a policy for the future that would outline how to support residents and families if they have to be moved out of long-term care.
For that, the SHR has drafted a procedure based on a policy from British Columbia, Davies said.
The second was doing a better job when the SHR triggers their incident command centre.
The SHR has done a lot of work in this area, she noted, refreshing staff as to when to use the process, so that people know what their job is and how it works.
They will be performing two mock scenarios in the new year to measure their progress, she indicated.
As for the Dust Wing of the Villa, it was closed because the floor joists were found to be unsafe and the SHR is still deciding what to do with it.
They have three options, Davies said. One of those is renovating and making that wing habitable again by fixing the floor.
This is estimated to cost millions of dollars, she said, and is the least costly solution.
The second option is taking the wing down and completely replace it.
The third option is to do a major refurbishment of the entire Villa.
"The building is.... 30-plus years old... Other parts of the building need attention," Davies noted.
Right now, they have ballpark, high-end estimates as to how much each of these options will cost. Those need to be reviewed with the Saskatoon Regional Health Authority board and the Ministry of Health, she said.
Whatever they decide to do the cost will have to be built into the budget they submit for this year, Davies said, and they are just starting that process.
"I don't think we can anticipate a lot of capital funding from the government in the coming year," she noted.
Fixing the underpinnings might buy them some time, she noted, but is not the ultimate solution.
They should have a decision on what they are doing by the end of March.
The SHR is feeling the loss of the long-term care beds shut down at the Villa due to this structural issue.
"A lot of people in the community are waiting for long-term care beds," she said.
They anticipated they would feel a shortage, and they are, she added.
Their message to the government will be that those beds have to be replaced in one way or another, she added.
The Humboldt District Hospital is feeling the affects of the loss, as patients are staying in the hospital when that isn't the most appropriate care option, because of a long term care bed shortage.
The SHR will be looking at options in home care and other supports to help alleviate this situation, she indicated.
The hospital's emergency room, Davies added, is seeing an increased volume as well - something she put down to a shortage of physicians in the community. People were accessing the emergency room when they could not get in to see a family doctor, she indicated.
The focus of the SHR, as it pertains to Humboldt in the upcoming year, is to continue to focus on physician recruitment and retention, and on patient flow and patient experiences as they move through the health care system. They especially want to know of any glitches when it comes from moving from rural to urban hospitals and back again, she indicated.
The region also plans to give attention to patient and staff safety, working within a tight budget and partnering with the community - something that is appreciated and needed, she said.
A prototype for a provincial safety alert/stop the line system originated by Toyota will be developed by the SHR starting next year, Davies indicated.
This system allows anyone to stop care on a patient if something seems wrong.
"This is a commitment to you that our care will be safe," Davies said.
A patient or family member will be able to stop the line, as will any other health care provider.
The goal is for the entire province to adopt such a system by March of 2014.
Over the next year, the SHR will also be considering collaborative emergency centres in communities having trouble keeping their emergency rooms open due to a small number of physicians.
The idea is that a collaborate emergency department would be staffed by a nurse and paramedic, with a doctor on call but not necessarily on site.
"We are looking at a version of that," she said, and hope to develop a prototype in the SHR.
Provincially, there are some bold targets for health care, Davies stated, such as no waiting in emergency departments and no medication defects by 2017.
