Heading into the final quarter of the fiscal year, the Sun Country Health Region is still on track to post a very slim surplus, as long as no major issues surface between now and March 31.
John Knoch, vice-president of finance for the health region that covers 60,000 people in southeast Saskatchewan, said the statement of operations will allow for a surplus of just under $2 million if all goes well, and while that may sound impressive, he said that equates to only four-and-a-half days of operations in the health region that requires a budget of more than $153 million to serve the entire region.
“Saskatchewan Health funding was over budget on the revenue side, but that was due to the additional funding for the collective agreement, which is matched on the expense side,” he told the board of directors during their Jan. 27 meeting in Weyburn.
Maintenance costs within the health region’s 28 facilities, are over budget and utility costs are also trending higher than originally forecasted. He said some of that was due to the transition to new, larger buildings in three different centres.
Knoch noted that travel expenses are in a favourable range heading into the financial homestretch, thanks in large part to a reduction in driving times and distances and better use of Telehealth conferences and other digital communications.
Knoch said the governance side of the budget is doing well, but he warned of coming financial pressures emerging, since there will be radiology fees to pay with the startup of the CT scanner in Estevan. He said as the current conditions show, St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan is indicating a slight surplus of $115,000 by year’s end as an affiliate facility.
“Cash flow is trending toward favourable ratios right now. That means we’re able to pay our bills, but we are facing an accumulated operating deficit of $4 million from the past, but we’re working that number down,” he said.
The budget for sick time payment for employees is down about $500,000 to around $2 million now, but, he suggested, it was time for administration to refocus on that file while still being supportive of the employees and their well being.
A one-time rebate from the Workers’ Compensation Board helped alleviate some financial pressures. He also noted that a capital works project at St. Joseph’s, slated to cost $1 million to replace the hospital’s two cooling towers, came in about $120,000 under budget. The demolition of the old Marian Health Centre in Radville was also completed under budget, but another construction project at another affiliate facility in Carnduff, may be coming in over budget.
He noted the renovations at St. Joesph’s Hospital to accommodate the new CT scanner were completely covered by the ambitious St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation.
Knoch, who also oversees corporate planning and affairs for Sun Country, said the former nurses quarters in Kipling will require a demolition plan in the new fiscal year, and repairs to St. Joseph’s Hospital roof, is also on the agenda.
There were also some questions regarding the need to track some costs associated with the operations of the dialysis program in the Estevan hospital.
Sun Country’s president and CEO, Marga Cugnet added that word has been released that a small saving of between one and two per cent are being rumoured as what the Health Ministry will be asking for in the 2016-17 provincial budget that won’t be released until after the provincial election in early April. She said that means salary budgets will probably reflect no increases. “The message from the Ministry (of Health) is clear,” she said.
The lateness of the provincial budget may also signal the need to “run for a while on last year’s budget and funding,” said board chairwoman Marilyn Charlton.
