The governing body of the Sun Country Health Region has approved a $141 million balanced budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year. The document still requires the approval of the Ministry of Health, but it is expected that the tightly knit budget that contains a 2.6 per cent increase will get the nod of approval.
The modest increase includes a target of improving access to primary health services and strengthened mental health and addictions services to reflect increased populations, said John Knoch, Sun Country's vice-president of finance and corporate services.
"All priorities will be carried out in a manner consistent with the Patient First approach to care, while continuing our strategic work (hoishins) and adapting to a lean system of management," Knoch said. "We are already starting to see a return on our investment in the lean system and will see more of it in the upcoming year."
In response to an inquiry from the Mercury as to who and how the monitoring is carried out with regards to the lean management and administration system, Knoch said "some areas have clean indicators where in other areas it's difficult to estimate the initiatives throughout. When assessing, we use our own data but in some sections, such as the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative, there is provincial data to determine success, and that's what we can use to develop strategies."
The costs associated with implementing lean initiatives are borne within each department, he said. He added that there are additional costs associated with training under the lean model and some are paid by the health region while others are met at the provincial level.
"We are very careful with pulling front-line people off work details to take training in efficiencies," said Knoch, since it would defeat the purpose of the program.
Although the exact amount assigned for St. Joseph's Hospital in Estevan, as an affiliated facility, was not known at press time, financial statements from the 2011-12 fiscal year indicate that Sun Country released $17.7 million to the Estevan hospital, which would represent that facility's main source of revenue for general operations at that time.
Knoch said there are other priorities being targeted within the region and its 19 facilities, including additional programs for those with chronic disease, more emphasis on recruitment of rural family doctors along with improvement in infection control, more screenings for colorectal cancer and expansion of services to address autism.
While the proposed budget has provided additional resources to maintain operating levels, there is also a push in Sun Country to reduce expenditures by about $2 million as outlined by the Ministry of Health. In essence, that would mean an increase in funding from the Ministry of about $2.8 million with the expectation of reducing expenditures by $2 million.
Knoch said they will attack these cuts with more efficient delivery of supplies and lowered utility costs along with better management of absenteeism and reduced workplace injuries along with service changes in laboratories with a history of low volumes. They have also targeted additional efficiencies in the affiliated facilities that include St. Joseph's in Estevan plus two others in Carlyle and Radville.
The cost savings are being implemented in areas that won't affect patient care, Knoch said.
Sun Country provides services to approximately 58,000 people in southeast Saskatchewan and employs 2,384 people, not including their affiliated facilities. Approximately 91 per cent of the revenue for Sun Country comes from the provincial ministry while eight per cent is derived from patient fees.
On the expenditure side, 69 per cent of the budgeted amount is spent on salaries and payments of benefits ($97.88 million) while $21.8 million goes to affiliated facilities, with the largest amount heading to St. Joseph's Hospital, while $16.7 million is spent on supplies, pharmaceuticals and utility costs, and another $4 million is spent on remuneration to medical professionals.
