When the Sun Country board of directors met in Weyburn on Sept. 24, they received several informational items to bring them up-to-date on the events that had occurred in the region since their last meeting held in late June.
Chairwoman Marilyn Charlton brought them information regarding the various workshops and functions she attended over the summer months, while president and CEO Marga Cugnet updated them on a variety of files connected to Sun Country's business of delivering health care in southeast Saskatchewan.
The vice-president of corporate and finance, John Knoch, stated that the region continued to enjoy a balanced budget heading into the final half of the year thanks to increased funding from the province to cover the wage increases that accompanied the recent signing of a new contract with unionized employees.
Knoch also noted that financial reports were received from the three affiliated centres in the region, including St. Joseph's Hospital in Estevan.
He also said the new hospital and extended care centre in Kipling will probably be ready for occupancy by patients and residents by the end of November.
During the course of the meeting, the board passed a motion to pay Cugnet $34,775 as part of the pay adjustment agreement that exists for senior administrators, who are guaranteed 90 per cent of their annual wages and then earn a 10 per cent bonus or completion of their employment contract if they meet certain performance targets. Charlton pointed out that Cugnet had achieved 103 per cent of her performance measurement and thus qualified for the final payment.
The board learned that a facility accreditation team will be in Sun Country soon. The seven-person team will be visiting each of the region's 19 facilities that are seeking accreditation on a national level, said Felicia Watson, regional quality care manager, who also spoke on the integrated quality management framework that began to roll out in late 2011. The process has allowed administration to trace activities throughout the region and align health care partnerships with families and local committees to measure such things as risk, ethics and continual improvements. She said patient and family councils are now in place throughout Sun Country. "We're getting traction, getting to know what we've accomplished and what needs to be done," she told the board members.
During the general report delivered by Cugnet, it was revealed that the physiotherapy program remains a concern, but there were promising signs on the horizon with the return of two physiotherapists to Weyburn in October, which will decrease the wait list from its current number of 113. A pediatric therapist began work in mid-September and was scheduled to begin to see young clients as soon as the orientation sessions had been completed.
The region also played host to a number of medical students in their placement programs and junior undergraduate rotating student intern and community experience programs.
Other clinical placements, mostly nurses, were also carried out in Estevan, Weyburn, Arcola and Kipling with Estevan playing host to one licenced practical nurse in training, five registered nurses, one nursing practitioner and one registered psychiatric nurse.
Hospital surgeries were also recorded for the first half of the year where it was noted that Weyburn General Hospital's surgical teams performed 241 surgeries in the first six-months with none of them being C-sections or hysterectomies.
There were 184 surgeries carried out at St. Joseph's Hospital in Estevan with 25 of them being C-section surgeries and seven being hysterectomies.
The board also learned that a Healthy Balance workshop for seniors is slated for Estevan on Oct. 3.
The two Community Leadership Network meetings this fall will be held Oct. 21 at the Kenosee Inn in Kenosee Lake and in the conference room at Tatagwa View in Weyburn on Oct. 22. Both meetings will begin at 7 p.m. with the public invited to attend either session.
During an information session to lead off the meeting, board members were informed that sick time among staff members had increased by 8.41 per cent over the summer compared with the same period of time last year. On the positive side, they also learned that no patients have had to wait more than three months for surgery in Sun Country, even during the summer.
