October, 2008

Message from: Ingrid Parkes, Chair, Board of Directors, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre

At our Board meeting in September, the Directors endorsed our plan to provide great patient care. We heard excellent news that our Angioplasty Program is treating a lot of patients and is ahead of case delivery expectations. With our nursing Model of Care being implemented, we also heard about surgical specialists offering new procedures in regional hospitals. One of our goals is to offer care to our patients, closer to home. We are doing it. We want to be a high-functioning, accessible acute care facility. We are also excited that our Research agenda is moving ahead as new scientists are taking up residence in Thunder Bay. I know that teams of our healthcare workers are being innovative and are pursuing our Strategic Plan vigorously.

It is also gratifying to see medical learners from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine come for training at TBRHSC. We have been anxiously waiting for our “home grown” physicians to graduate. We will be celebrating “in the streets” when it happens. Our Chief of Staff, Dr. Gordon Porter, and the Dean of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Dr. Roger Strasser, have shared that patients will soon find a significant change in the healthcare environment. That is great news!

Two things that concern me though, reflect on how difficult it is for us to deliver patient care the way we need to. My first issue is, how long it is taking us to reach our accountability agreement with the LHIN; and, secondly, the inability of the “system” to accommodate the 60 – 70 Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients that could be discharged enabling us to receive acute care patients who are waiting to receive the care they need.

We are doing our best to cope with the situation, but I feel that the “political will” to endorse a workable solution in a fair and equitable fashion still has not come together. As you know, TBRHSC budgets are primarily based on caring for acutely ill patients. However, when we are waiting for our ALC beds to empty, the “bottom line” is that we receive less funding. All in all, it contributes to a deficit. Without overstating it, we must optimize our resources. Currently, we can’t. It follows, that at no fault of ours, we feel that we cannot meet budget targets and maintain service. This causes distress to us, to the Ministry and our LHIN.

Our Board members are concerned, for example, that if the growing ALC problem is not addressed soon, some of our specialists will go elsewhere and we will lose medical services. Our patient concerns would be compounded. We would be placed in an unstable health environment right across the region. So, my challenge to the planning authorities is to address the seriousness of the current situation.

I want to assure our physicians, staff, volunteers, regional healthcare partners, and patients, that members of the Board of Directors are doing everything possible to ensure that the TBRHSC mandate of acute patient care and safety is a reality for all citizens in Northwestern Ontario.

Until next time, thank you for your support.

Ingrid Parkes, Chair
Board of Directors