CEO’s report
CEO Lynn Foster noted that Dr. Nick Jeeves had tendered his resignation, effective December 31, 2018. She said Manitoulin Health Centre (MHC) Chief of Staff Dr. Stephen Cooper would elaborate more in his presentation. Ms. Foster’s report mentioned that funding from the Small Hospital Innovation Program has begun to flow to MHC. A payment of $673,000 arrived on November 15.
Hospital management is beginning to explore a website hosting and design overhaul, as well as getting the hospital a greater presence on social media.
In October, the Ontario PC government introduced the Making Ontario Open for Business Act, 2018. One item that will be repealed from the Wynne Liberals’ reforms is personal emergency leave, requiring employers to provide two paid leave days per year in addition to eight unpaid days. The act will revert the policy back to just the eight unpaid days. Ms. Foster’s report says the personal emergency leave provision has cost MHC roughly $20,000 to date.
VP Clinical Services and
Chief Nursing Officer’s report
Mariana Markovic’s report stated the Inter-professional Spine Assessment and Education Clinic, run by Health Sciences North (HSN), will be hosted at the Little Current site starting in January 2019. The clinic enables assessment and management of lower back ailments through physiotherapy.
Ms. Markovic told the board that the staff influenza vaccination rate was currently at 67 percent. Last year, MHC achieved 76 percent vaccinations and this year’s target is to get above 80 percent. She also addressed concerns about nursing turnover that had been raised at the previous meeting. MHC’s overall staff turnover rate is 14 percent, but the nursing turnover rate is four percent.
VP Corporate Support Services
(CSS) and CFO’s report
Tim Vine reported that in the first seven months of the 2018-2019 fiscal year, hospital operations is in a $54,000 deficit, but totalling all other revenues and expenses, is in a $1,500 surplus position. Management turnover in the first two quarters resulted in unexpected costs from nurse manager orientation overlap, transitional consulting fees and advertising/relocation expenses. The extra expenses totalled $44,000. The hospital’s operating ratio as of October 31 was 1.5 to one.
Chief of Staff’s report
Julia Fedec, nurse manager, has been working with Dr. Cooper and Melanie Stephens of Noojmowin-Teg to build a Rapid Access to Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinic on Manitoulin. It supports patients with opioid or alcohol addictions who need support to manage their addiction.
Dr. Cooper will attend the HSN leadership meeting this month.
Manitoulin Health Centre Auxiliary report
Dave Sylvester said the auxiliary is trying a new fundraising effort called a bakeless bake sale. In lieu of baking goodies for the sale, participants are being asked to donate whatever money they would have spent on the goods instead.
The auxiliary also plans to make a donation towards the purchase of capital budget items by the end of the year. It will be donating funds for two bursaries at the high school.
Mindemoya Hospital Auxiliary report
Between November 9 and 11, the Hospital Auxiliary Association of Ontario (HAAO) held its last-ever convention, reported President Judy Mackenzie. The HAAO has voted to disband due to several years of financial losses. The North Central Region, the regional body that covers an area from Wawa to Sudbury and New Liskeard to Parry Sound, is likely to stay together as a regional body.
The Mindemoya auxiliary donated $5,724 towards a Holter monitor and a standard cart for isolation. In November, it voted to donate another $11,900 for hospital equipment. Its final commitment for 2018 will be in the name of six $500 scholarships for Manitoulin Secondary School (MSS) students pursuing a career in health. Ms. Mackenzie said there was $9,720.66 in the chemotherapy restricted fund that she would present to the auxiliary for a vote.
Resource Committee report
The Resource Committee put forth a motion to encourage the president and CEO to continue exploring the possibility of renovations to expand the Mindemoya site emergency department (ED) to match Little Current’s facility, and examine the eligibility for the Exceptional Circumstances Program to help offset the cost. This would be conducted with the understanding that if the project may not be deemed feasible, it might not proceed.
The board also discussed the newly-built skills matrix which lists some of the natural strengths of board members, to be referenced in future projects.
Nominating Committee report
The committee presented samples of its new recruitment folders for attracting board members.
There are two vacant seats in the remaining two years of the board’s term. The committee brought forward Terry McCaffrey, new Wikwemikong Tribal Police Chief, who had expressed his interest in serving on the board. The motion was for the board to consider and approve Mr. McCaffrey.
Jane Hohenadel expressed concerns that the events had not followed the full policy, as the nominating committee had yet to consider Mr. McCaffrey. Dennis McGregor said in order to have Mr. McCaffrey join the board before the next fiscal year, he would have to be approved soon. Ms. Foster said Mr. McCaffrey had called earlier that afternoon and so the timeframe was very short.
Strategic Planning Committee report
The committee presented its draft strategic plan, noting that the values section is still being finalized with meetings held in the coming months. This process has been ongoing since December 2017.
Admin policy revision
The admin policy was revised to update the reporting frequency on medically-assistance in dying (MAID) cases. The previous reporting policy was to provide a quarterly update, however MHC has changed it to be an annual report. Due to the infrequency of MAID cases, the health centre has opted for annual reporting to protect patient privacy.
