The $157 million 2016-17 budget for the Sun Country Health Region, including an operations budget in excess of $17 million for St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan, will be sent to the Health Ministry this week.
One of the most important features of the hardline budget for the southeast part of the province, is that it is a balanced financial document. But that didn’t come about easily.
To bring balance to the budget that contains very little fresh funding from provincial coffers, Sun Country and St. Joseph’s administration had to make some difficult decisions.
Keeping a few vacated administrative positions unfilled is part of the new plan moving forward.
Marga Cugnet, the CEO for the local health region, said that one of those positions was just vacated about two months ago, while a couple of others have remained unfilled for over a year. Some support staff positions are also going unfilled, but, administration added, the shifts would not affect overall health outcomes, add to waiting lists or cuts to existing programs.
The same situation has evolved at St. Joseph’s said their executive director Greg Hoffort, who spoke with the Mercury a couple of days after the special Sun Country board meeting on July 19 which approved the budget, in principle.
“One of our challenges here is that out-of-province billing and income which once was over $1 million, was reduced to about $500,000 last year and will probably be down a bit more again,” said Hoffort.
In the meantime, funding from the province, including $500,000 to meet some of the costs associated with operating the new CT scanner at the hospital, will come in at around $17 million, he suggested.
The blood-drawing services, formerly offered at the St. Joseph’s Foundation clinic have been transferred back into the hospital next to the laboratory services where renovations have occurred to improve the service. That then leaves room in the medical clinic area to include one, and later two, more family medical practices that will be moving into the clinic wing soon, said Hoffort.
On the managerial side, Hoffort said three manager positions have been cut, two of them immediate and one more through attrition, later this year, with other managers adding to their duties to ensure continuity.
“There is the provincial initiative to reduce, so that’s what we are doing, along with all the others. We are complying with their directive,” said Hoffort, adding the moves were made as part of the equation for balancing the hospital’s budget and the Sun Country budget.
“There will be no change to programming, no change to schedules or time allocations for programs, and we have some reserves to provide for the CT scanner above their $500,000 budgeted amount. Next year, the province will be assuming all the operational costs for the CT scanner. This year, we have to assume some of those costs and we have provided for that. Also, keep in mind, the CT scanner is not being operated on a full-time basis yet.”
Cugnet said during the budget presentation, “this year the health region will continue to focus on quality care for our patient/residents/clients, reducing emergency department wait times while improving patient flow and care to seniors and strengthening the mental health and addiction services available.”
The reductions did not include any changes to the ongoing Lean management programs, or any other specific reduction targets, and John Knoch, vice-president of finance and corporate services, said base funding did not include an anticipated $423,000 reduction.
Negotiated salary increases with the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses and the Saskatchewan Medical Association and other units or unions, are being paid by the provincial government. Cugnet said she was pleased to see that since that wasn’t the case in the education portfolio where regional school divisions are required to pick up half of the 1.9 per cent increase in educators’ salaries this coming year. The overall budget for Sun Country did not include any increases for inflation.
Savings on the administration side will be shifted to frontline hirings and retention for the long-term care services, Knoch said.
Hoffort said some final numbers had to be computed for St. Joe’s before their part of the budget could be submitted, but he expected that would be completed soon. St. Joseph’s is an affiliated entity within the Sun Country Health Region and therefore operates within a separate budget structure, but remains accountable to Sun Country and, therefore, the province.
Knoch also pointed out there will be a budgeted saving of about $172,000 in administrative non-salary files such as a $50,000 reduction for fleet vehicles and IT projects, telephone, boardroom and travel (mileage) cost compensations.
Sun Country is expecting as little as $1.3 million in provincial funding for capital equipment needs which means they will once again, be making appeals to community trust committees and foundations to help them provide needed equipment or to undertake improvements and renovations to existing facilities.
