In news that comes as little surprise, the new amalgamated provincial health authority will be headquartered in Saskatoon.
The announcement was made Monday by provincial health minister Jim Reiter and rural and remote health minister Greg Ottenbreit.
There had been talk of other locations, including Prince Albert, as a potential headquarters. But Saskatoon was thought to be the leading contender because of its central location.
“A number of locations for the head office were considered, and all would have been a good fit for the new health authority and the people of Saskatchewan,” Reiter said.
“Saskatoon will be the location of the head office because it is more centrally located in the province, is close to the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, and will be in close proximity to the new Children’s Hospital.”
When it begins operations later this year, the name of the new provincial organization will be ‘Saskatchewan Health Authority’.
“The new Saskatchewan Health Authority must have a strong connection to people and local communities,” Ottenbreit said.
While the headquarters will be in Saskatoon, other jobs will be located throughout the province. The government plans to establish a “distributed executive leadership model” will be established with senior management in Regina, Prince Albert and Moose Jaw. There will be jobs located in other major communities as well, but nothing specific to the Battlefords has been announced by the province as yet.
“Management and support services will continue to be located across the province to support the delivery of high quality and consistent frontline health care services for Saskatchewan people, wherever they live,” said Ottenbreit.
The province adds in its news release Monday that work has begun to build an information technology infrastructure to support the approximately 43,000 employees of the health authority. This includes a website and network and email accounts.
The new health authority will replace the existing 12 regional health authorities, including Prairie North Health Region which covers the Battlefords and area. The government says a single provincial health authority will increase efficiencies and reduce duplication in the health system, with potential savings estimated between $10-20 million by 2018-19.
While it is still not known when the first day of operations will be for the new health authority, it is anticipated to be sometime in the fall of 2017.
