Southern Health-Sante Sud (SH-SS) held their annual public meeting on October 19, providing a comprehensive overview of the health region’s struggles, achievements, and financial outcomes over the past year.
To provide maximum opportunity for a broader attendance, the meeting was held virtually. More than 30 people tuned in.
The theme for 2022 was “meeting the moment.”
Adam Monteith, chairperson for the SH-SS board of directors, opened the meeting with a look back at how the organization managed itself through the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We acknowledge that the COVID pandemic has brought about incredible pressure on our health system to change and adapt very quickly and yet, at the same time, demonstrate perseverance and endurance like never before,” Monteith said. “It certainly has been a marathon and the flexibility and leadership demonstrated by Southern Health-Sante Sud staff has been inspiring to hear about and, in some cases, witness personally.”
The many sacrifices made by healthcare staff at every level have not gone unnoticed, he said.
Still, Monteith added, there were some silver linings that came about as a result of the pandemic. These included the introduction of innovations, advanced collaboration, new or expanded technologies, and of course the countless lessons learned.
SH-SS CEO Jane Curtis also weighed in on the impacts of the pandemic.
“We know that for our organization, our number one priority is to provide safe, quality healthcare services,” Curtis said. “People’s health does not pause during lockdowns or restrictions and neither does the work of the healthcare system. Service is a choice we make at every touchpoint, in everything we do, because, at its very core, it’s about enhancing human wellbeing.”
Like Monteith, Curtis reinforced the fact that many accomplishments were achieved despite the hardships faced.
Not the least of these was the recognition SH-SS received for being the first health region in Canada to receive the National Using Blood Widely designation.
“This signifies that each transfusing facility within our region has met or exceeded the national benchmark of appropriate red blood cell use in Canada,” said Curtis.
Monteith took some time to share a few of the major capital projects in store for the health region this coming year.
“We are excited to see a historic $812 million in capital investment announcements made over the past year,” said Monteith. “This includes some very long-awaited building, expanding and renovating projects that will help serve our communities for years to come.”
The biggest of these projects include a new $283 million hospital in Portage la Prairie as well as a $32 million expansion of Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach. The Bethesda expansion will come with a new renal dialysis unit.
The Boundary Trails Health Centre of the Morden/Winkler area will also see an expansion to the tune of $64.4 million.
“We are confident that these improvements will lay the foundation for building up local service delivery, enhancing and expanding services available outside of Winnipeg,” added Monteith.
For SH-SS, the financial side of things also looked bright, despite the many additional costs incurred this past year for extra staffing, opening vaccination sites, and investing in personal protective equipment.
Of primary note, according to CFO Ken Klassen, the financial statements show a zero-dollar operating balance at year’s end.
“We received COVID offset funding from Manitoba Health to the extent that it was needed to offset any deficit caused by COVID,” Klassen said.
Another factor which aided in balancing the budget was the organization’s ability to keep administrative costs down across the region. SH-SS came in below the provincial average in all areas of administration, including corporate, patient care, and human resources.
Five SH-SS healthcare staffers were announced at the public meeting as Quality Service Award recipients this year.
The award winners included Kevin Beaudette of the Vita Health Centre; regional leader Ales Morga; Mona Spencer, director of Acute Community Hospitals; Dorothea Wicklund, a registered nurse at the Portage District Hospital; and Dr. Alan Macklem, retired family physician from the Portage area.
The meeting ended with an open Q&A, giving virtual attendees the opportunity to ask questions.
The initial inquirer sought answers regarding the recruitment strategies SH-SS is using to address staffing issues throughout the region.
“I’m happy to say that there’s a lot of work going on provincially and within our region,” said Curtis.
Provincial initiatives, she added, include an active recruitment strategy to entice nurses from abroad, making it easier for them to practice here.
Closer to home, new training classes are being offered for nurses and healthcare aides in rural areas so students don’t need to travel to Winnipeg to obtain a degree. These teaching programs already exist in Portage la Prairie and Otterburne and will soon be coming to Morden/Winkler.
Another question surfaced in regard to funding that would allow aging seniors to remain at home and out of the personal care home setting.
“Part of health transformation is looking at exactly that,” said SH-SS CMO Dr. Denis Fortier. “How do we best serve our aging population in the home environment? There is definitely a lot of interest and a push to find innovative ways to allow for aging-in-place in surroundings that are more conducive than a personal care home setting.”
