Sault Area Hospital unveils 73-part recovery plan

The Northeast Local Health Integration Network will retain an independent team of health-care experts to review the Sault Area Hospital recovery plan presented today to a packed house at the Sault Ste. Marie Civic Centre.

The analysis is expected to take at least three or four months, said NE LHIN Chair Mathilde Gravelle Bazinet.

The controversial hospital improvement plan includes proposals for $4.5 million in annual operational savings.

The 78 cost-cutting recommendations originally made by Geyer and Associates Inc. have been reduced to 73. If those 73 recommendations are accepted, 13 jobs would be lost and 20 hospital beds would be closed.

The plan would balance SAH's budget by the 2011/12 fiscal year, when the new hospital site will open.

But Ron Gagnon, president and chief executive officer of Sault Area Hospital, announced today that a final decision on closure of Matthews Memorial Hospital in Richards Landing has been deferred, pending further consultation and analysis.

“There is too much at stake to proceed with a final determination without all the available information,” Gagnon said. “We are continuing to meet with stakeholders such as the Matthews Memorial Hospital Association and the Rural Health Steering Committee to explore all possible options with respect to the ongoing operations of MMH.”

The following response was issued by the Matthews Memorial Hospital Association:

************************* The board of directors of the Matthews Memorial Hospital Association remains cautiously optimistic following a request today by the Sault Area Hospital for more time to study the impact the closure of Matthews Memorial Hospital will have on the catchment area it serves from Echo Bay to Bruce Mines including St. Joseph Island.

The request came as part of the SAH’s presentation of its recovery plan to members of the Northeast Local Health Integration Network who were in the Sault to receive the hospital’s report.

“Sault Area Hospital’s request for further time to look at other alternatives for Matthews together with discussions we have had with the LHIN, are very encouraging. We believe that all parties are looking for a solution with the best interests of local residents in mind. We are confident that a solution can be found that will be mindful of SAH’s fiscal position, the health-care needs of residents, provincial objectives, our local health-care network and the community at large,” said Connie Witty, chair of the Matthews Memorial Hospital Association board of directors.

“We believe that the SAH and LHIN are listening to the grassroots movement that is working to keep the services we have at Matthews,” she said.

While the delivery of services to rural areas is different than urban areas and costs may vary, maintaining services at Matthews is in keeping with provincial health-care objectives of providing health care close to home and reducing emergency room wait times.

Matthews Memorial Hospital continues to play an integral role in the small, rural integrated network that the association has built over the past decade.

“We can and will be part of the solution to the strain on health-care needs in the entire SAH area. We believe Matthews Memorial Hospital can be part of that solution and is not part of the problem,” said Mrs. Witty.

Matthews Memorial Hospital Association was incorporated in 1925 and has supported the operation of Matthews Memorial Hospital, recruited physicians and promoted the delivery of local health-care services for over 80 years.

Today, the association owns Matthews Memorial Hospital, is the community participant in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Rural and Northern Physicians Recruitment Program, is administrator of the RNPRP contract, operator of the St. Joseph Island Medical Clinic providing local physicians a turnkey practice environment, funding agent for hospital and clinical capital and equipment needs, funding agent for the construction and ongoing operation of the BridgeLink Medical Centre, and lead proponent in the development of the MeadowLink semi-dependent care project.

Matthews Memorial Hospital was constructed by Mrs. Mortimer Matthews as a memorial to her late husband who lost his life in the waters off St. Joseph Island.

It was operated as a Red Cross outpost hospital until 1984 at which time the Red Cross divested itself of any interest in the future operation of Matthews and the Plummer Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie leased the facility and took over the provision of services offered there.

In the 1990s, cutbacks at that time lead to the elimination of in-patient beds, however after an aggressive grassroots campaign by local residents, 24-hour emergency service was retained along with two observation beds and an array of outpatient services and clinics.

************************* The 73 recommendations presented today by Sault Area Hospital include a total of 20 bed closures over a two-year period including five on the surgical unit; eight on the medical unit and seven inpatient mental health beds. It also includes staff reductions of 16.7 full-time equivalent jobs or 13 individuals. This represents approximately 0.7 percent of the total staff complement of 1,869.

Board recommendations

- The board should engage an experienced coach to assist in board development and to provide ongoing support and strategic advice over the next year as required.

- The board should establish that all board members are ready to govern during a period of restructuring and recovery before beginning the recovery plan process.

- The board should approve the extension of the current chair's term, should she be winning to do so, to provide consistency in leadership through what may be the most difficult period in SAH history.

- The board should reduce the size of the board, enforce term limits to nine years, and determine specific skill sets that would be most beneficial to assisting SAH to meet strategic goals.

- Develop a board reporting schedule and articulate board requirements for management reports. The board may wish to survey other organizations to assist in developing their own reporting framework and timelines.

- The board should continue its efforts to develop a new strategic plan for for Sault Area Hospital that incorporates key findings and recommendations from the in-depth analysis.

- Direct the chief executive officer to develop a communications plan for both internal and external stakeholders.

- Conduct an impartial analysis for each recommendation in an efficient and timely manner. The purpose of this is to put in place more detailed plans for implementing the recommendations.

- The CEO should present the board with a recovery plan based on this report.

- The board should focus on the recommendations specifically directed to board functioning and prepare to engage in discussions regarding the strategic recommendations in this report.

Recommendations to enhance physician involvement in the SAH management

- The CEO, in collaboration with the vice president of medical affairs and chief of staff, should revise position descriptions to both positions with a goal of eliminatng present ambiguity and to align these roles with best practices.

Click here to read more recommendations