July 13, 2007

The capacity to staff the nursing units at Stevenson Memorial Hospital has been challenged during the summer vacation period as a result of unexpected absences. The staffing situation has necessitated a consolidation of medical/surgical admissions. The hospital uses available beds on the obstetrical unit for overflow of medical/surgical patients, when required. The consolidation of beds from the obstetrical to medical/surgical unit will effect staffing economy, workload equitability and efficiency on all units.

Staff from the obstetrical unit has been temporarily redeployed throughout the hospital. This is part of a "Shared Care Service Delivery Model" that optimizes utilization of staffing resources to deliver quality patient care. This model supports joint accountability across departments to meet the immediate needs of SMH patients and has been in effect at Stevenson for several years. All inpatients will be managed on the medical/surgical unit to achieve greater efficiency in staffing. It is projected that this situation may exist for up to four weeks.

On July 11, 2007, a selection committee composed of representatives of Stevenson Memorial Hospital, Southlake Regional Health Centre and the community interviewed Obstetrician candidates. Plans for implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Maternity Care are progressing well.

Stevenson Memorial Hospital continues to provide 24/7 coverage in the Emergency Room despite its current challenges with physician shortages. At this point in time, through the leadership of Dr. Oswaldo Ramirez, Chief of the Emergency Department; Dr. Alex Riddell, Chief of Staff; and the commitment of the Emergency Room physicians, the Emergency Room continues to be covered on a 24/7 basis until the end of July 2007. The remainder of the summer schedule is being finalized. The Emergency Room physicians are in the process of concluding an Alternate Funding Arrangement (AFA) with the Ministry of Health & Long Term Care. The purpose of the AFA is to provide an alternate funding mechanism to the Emergency Room physicians based on a guaranteed hourly rate. This funding arrangement has been very successful in many other communities and encourages physicians from outside the community to provide coverage.

Stevenson Memorial Hospital will continue to actively recruit Emergency Room physicians via a recruitment firm it has engaged and through personal contact with physicians in other hospitals and communities.

Recently, the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, the Supervisor, and the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer signed the Hospital Accountability Agreement (HAA). Signing of the HAA supports the obligation of all hospitals to meet legislative requirements (Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act - Bill 8) and the expectation of a balanced budget. The hospital will now directly work with the Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN). Effective April 1, 2007, LHINs assumed full legislative responsibilities for planning, funding and integrating health care services.

The communities continued support and understanding on these matters is appreciated. We will continue to keep the community updated as we move forward.