Board Chair Message - December 2008

Healthcare at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre continues at a frenetic pace. It is little wonder. Acuity is high, and we have more patients than we have capacity. Patients continue to be placed in areas not designed for their acute phase. Even so, our healthcare workers are passionate about acute care and I see first-hand how they are making a positive difference in the lives of people.

As I speak with folks in the region and around the province, it is clear that no one is denying the level of difficulty we are all facing as acute care providers. Our system of care is fragile. Noticeably, we continue to cope with demands beyond our resources. This, for sure, places us in a higher risk environment.

Every one of us should take the time to commend our healthcare team members for a job well done. Be prescriptive about it. Carry out your intentions. When I visit departments and discuss issues with staff, I know that we are doing the best we can to meet the needs of patients and families in their journey to recovery.

Like us, I know that some of our colleagues in the region are struggling, too. For example, hospital leaders in Kenora and Dryden recently expressed that unless they can find physicians to cover “over-night” shifts in their respective Emergency Departments, patients may have to travel to the nearest hospital offering such a service. It is not clear where that nearest hospital might be. As healthcare consumers, we have presumed that it is our privilege to receive care close to home during our time of need. That assumption is being challenged.

I want to comment about our financial situation. With uncertain economic forecasts, government officials continue to ask for a “balanced budget”. I commend Ron Saddington and his team for steering us through a challenging time. But, I wonder how much longer we can contend with inflationary costs while providing services at current levels and still balance the books. To my mind, patient care is being weighed in the balance. Simply, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre Board of Directors is going to have to examine what service options are reasonable given the current inability to reach an Accountability Agreement with the Local Health Integration Network.

Maybe our acute care mandate has to be scaled back because we do not have the capacity to accommodate acutely ill patients as well as Alternate Level of Care patients. More than a decade ago, the Restructuring Commission positioned us to provide acute care. We even entered our new site in 2004 providing care to only acutely ill patients. But things have changed. TBRHSC is forced to operate at 110% of maximum capacity. We know that approximately one patient in five in our facility is an Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patient. ALC patients are beyond the acute care phase. The impact is significant because when beds are full, surgeries may be cancelled. There is just nowhere to put recovering patients. It happens. Still, we are doing everything that we can to accommodate the needs of people placed in our trust. We are providing care, though, beyond the scope of our capacity. The stakes are high. Thank you for working with us during this challenging time.

Lastly, I had the pleasure of attending the TBRHSC Walk the Talk Awards Ceremony on November 18th and am proud of all the recipients. They are deserving of their awards as they collectively demonstrate their dedication to patient-focussed care.

Until next time, thank you for your support.

Ingrid Parkes, Chair
Board of Directors

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