Sault Area Hospital's new war on gossip

Senior Sault Area Hospital (SAH) officials found themselves under aggressive questioning last night, both from some members of City Council and from local reporters.

And they fought back, launching a bold counter-offensive against rampant community rumours of mismanagement and pending service cuts.

However, SAH President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Gagnon and Board Chair Elaine Pitcher had almost nothing of substance to say about how they're planning to staunch the fiscal bleeding and balance their budget, as the Ontario government is insisting they do by early next year.

Responding to questions about how the hospital will climb out of its current $32-million sinkhole of debt, Gagnon would only say that SAH is working on a comprehensive recovery plan.

Attending last night's City Council meeting to give an invited update on goings-on at the hospital, Gagnon and Pitcher found themselves under tough scrutiny. By March 31 of next year, the province is insisting that Sault Area Hospital continue to offer its mandated services without going any further into debt.

"Sault Area Hospital is part of the health care system, not the health care system," said Pitcher. "We cannot be all things to all people."

One of the problems that SAH administrators have been wrestling with for several years is a shortage of long-term care beds for patients who don't require acute-care services.

The hospital is not a long-term care facility and long-term care patients would be better off in facilities designed and funded to meet their needs, said Gagnon.

The hospital is funded for approximately 87 percent occupancy.

"In 2008, between 25 and 31 percent of our beds were occupied by alternative-level-of-care patients [non acute-care patients] on any given day," Gagnon told councillors last night. "Fifty percent of the time, we operate at more than the 289 beds we are funded for."

Gagnon said these patients are staying in the hospital because they are waiting for spaces in a long-term care facility to open or for home care to become available.

"I hope that, by coming here tonight, a community solution to this problem can be found," he said.

Rumours of impending cuts to hospital operations have been flying around the Sault for months.

They've become more persistent since the hospital's popular head of oncology, Dr. David Walde, announced last month that he would be retiring early because he'd completely lost confidence in the hospital's administration.

Neither Gagon nor Pitcher said anything last night to dispel the rumours of coming cuts.

"We must get our financial house in order," said Pitcher at the outset of her presentation to City Council. "We are anticipating a total deficit of $12.6 million for the 2008-2009 operating year and we have a long-term debt of $15 million."

In response to questions from councillors, Gagnon said that the hospital is currently undergoing its own internal operational review and looking for ways to slash costs while maintaining services.

He said that SAH is looking at what services could be better provided elsewhere in the community.

Pitcher said the hospital faces the possibility of having its board and administration replaced by outside management if it can't balance its budget by March 31, 2010.

That, she said, is one of several options open to the province under its agreements with all hospitals in Ontario.

Ward 5 Councillor David Celetti asked Gagnon whether layoffs would be part of SAH's cost-cutting measures.

"That is something we are looking at," Gagnon answered. "We will try to minimize impacts of those as much as possible."

Celetti believes that the hospital board and its well-remunerated administration gave up on health to protect their wealth.

"This hospital is in big trouble," said Celetti. "They're in over their heads and I'm disappointed in our representative for not being here to help guide us."

Celetti believes it's the role of our member of provincial parliament, David Orazietti, to lead the way to finding solutions for the hospital's problems.

Mayor John Rowswell reminded Celetti that Gagnon and Pitcher were attending last night's meeting at City Council's request.

Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland joined the fray, indicating that he tried to call Sault MPP David Orazietti yesterday but found he was out trying to act on recommendations that came from a meeting with the City, SAH and Orazietti.

Ward 2 Councillor Susan Myers, also a hospital board member, said she was offended by the frosty reception that Pitcher and Gagnon got last night.

They only came to give the public a status update, Myers pointed out.

She said that statements by some councillors were irresponsible, inflammatory fearmongering, that everyone at the hospital is working very hard to find ways to meet the budget and maintain good service.

Myers urged members of City Council and the public to call the hospital when they have questions about what's going on there, instead of relying on what they may have heard at Tim Hortons or on the street.

Several councillors, as well as the mayor, Gagnon and Pitcher, expressed concern that outside management of the hospital would be very bad for both patients and the community.

They said it would mean drastic cuts to services with little or no regard to the impact of those cuts, by people who neither understand or sympathize with the medical needs of the people of the Sault area.

"At the end of the day, they would go back to where they came from with no responsibility to the people of Sault Ste. Marie," said Gagnon.

Gagnon said it's very unlikely that outside managers would come into the hospital with bags of money to fix its problems.

And, it would be irresponsible for any manager, including the current SAH management, to continue to operate over budget even if the hospital were bailed out, he added.

The full text of a media release from Sault Area Hospital on its presentation to City Council follows.

************************** Sault Area Hospital updates Sault Ste. Marie City Council

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON - Sault Area Hospital (SAH) Board Chair Elaine Pitcher, and President & CEO Ron Gagnon, made a presentation to Sault Ste. Marie City Council this evening, providing an update on the hospital’s financial situation, the new hospital and alternate level of care (ALC) issues of concern to both the hospital and community.

SAH is facing a significant financial challenge with a projected total deficit of $12.6 million for fiscal 2008/09 (including an operating deficit of $10.8 million) and long-term debt of approximately $15 million.

The deficit estimate includes approximately $7 million in savings over two years which were identified in a hospital improvement plan approved in May 2008.

"Under provincial legislation, Sault Area Hospital is required to present a balanced budget to the North East Local Health Integration Network (NE LHIN) – our funder – by March 31, 2010," states Ms. Pitcher. "Continued deficits are simply not acceptable."

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