I enjoy writing a column that creates a buzz in the community.
My parents always said how important it was to communicate. Whether it be with a friend, a spouse, a co-worker or that person who sits beside you in church, it’s important to be able to carry on a conversation. Good or bad, right or wrong, my opinion is just that. Mine.
My last column was on the parking fees that the SCHR is planning on implementing in February. I got a ton of positive feedback along with a couple of people who weren’t so much disagreeing with my article but had some different points of view and different interpretations of the memo in question.
I also had some more input from readers concerning the cost savings or lack-there-of of the Sun Country Health Region.
I was told that the parking plug-ins are only activated for 15 minutes every three hours, so exactly how much power are they using?
I was also asked a question regarding the employees who need to bring a vehicle to work due to their job requirements. Is SCHR expecting these people to pay their $1 a shift when they are in and out all day and rarely have time to plug in when they are there?
Another reader said that the SCHR spends money on training approximately 30 employees a month (‘orientation’ it is called). The week-long program is to learn the various policies, etc. that the district has before that person even works one minute for the health region. If you live more than an hour away, they put you up in a hotel room. They are provided with breakfast, coffee, lunch and snacks everyday throughout the week. After the orientation, there is apparently a huge number who quit within the first month because they are put into a position that they didn’t even apply for.
Is this the best way to be spending money? My input was that it is common practice to do this in the cooperate world and sometimes that’s the price of running a business. The response to this was, but that’s the corporate world - these are public funds. To this I say.....Good point!
I think, in general, those involved are not upset with the $1 parking fee as much as the memo saying that financial challenges are expected in 2016. As they see it, their leaders are throwing money away in several areas and to make up for it, the only solution they can come up with is to charge for parking.
I was always told that knowledge is power and having two sides to a story allows one to come to their own conclusion.
Below is the response from Sun Country Health Region to my column. You decide!
Letter to the Editor
Weyburn This Week
Jan. 12, 2016
Dear Editor,
Re the personal opinion column by Andrea Corrigan (Weyburn This Week, Jan. 7, 2016), the writer missed the point of the new staff parking fees.
Sun Country Health Region is constantly evaluating its operations to ensure funds are directed toward the primary reason for our existence and to separate the “must-have services” from the “nice-to-have services.” We exist to provide services for patients, clients and residents.
Staff parking fees are one way to meet our financial challenges without larger reductions. The parking fee is $1 per shift worked for those who park at our facilities. The additional revenue will be directed toward subsidizing the costs of upgrading and maintaining parking areas, and paying for the rising electricity cost of providing plug-ins. The policy does not include doctors, patients/residents/clients or visitors.
Sun Country Health Region is mandated by the Saskatchewan government to be a conscientious trustee of taxpayer funds. The Regional Health Authorities Act requires the Region to maintain a balanced budget. We take that responsibility very seriously.
Marga Cugnet,
President and CEO
Sun Country Health Region
