Hospital balances budget after three years of deficits while enhancing patient access, quality and safety

The Annual and Special Meeting of the Members of Northumberland Hills Hospital was hosted by the Hospital’s Board of Directors on Thursday, June 16th.

Held in the NHH Education Centre, the evening meeting was called to order by Board Chair John Hudson at 7:00 PM with approximately 55 people in attendance. At the top of the agenda was the keynote address, delivered this year by Dr. James Meloche, Senior Director at the Central East Local Health Integration Network (Central East LHIN).

Dr. Meloche provided a detailed overview of the regional priorities with regard to health care delivery and integration. He spoke to the progress made to date on the LHIN’s two “Strategic Aims,” namely to save 1 million hours of time spent in Central East LHIN Emergency Departments by 2013 and to reduce the impact of vascular disease by 10 per cent within the same timeframe. Another focus of Dr. Meloche’s remarks was the need to work together, particularly through collaborative programs like the successful Home First initiative, to improve our system for frail seniors.

Henry Pankratz, Chair of the Board’s Finance and Audit Committee, provided a summary of the Hospital’s Financial Report for the year concluded March 31st, 2011. He highlighted that, after three years’ of operating deficits, NHH had returned to a surplus position. NHH must now turn its attention to repaying its significant accumulated debt load. The Auditors’ Report was presented by KPMG LLP’s Vicki Leakey, and, at the Finance and Audit Committee’s recommendation, Members approved the reappointment of Auditor KPMG.

Reports from Board Chair John Hudson, President and CEO Robert Biron and Chief of Staff Dr. David Broderick were also delivered, highlighting specific achievements of the year in areas including operational efficiency, infection control and senior-friendly care, and the priorities in the months ahead.

Mr. Biron provided a retrospective review of the past year, focusing on specific commitments that were made by the NHH Board at the 2010 annual members’ meeting. While balancing the budget, NHH demonstrated significant improvements in wait times, access to services and patient safety. A summary of the highlights is provided below.

• Increase of 74% in mental health patient activity over the past two years, partly attributed to the new partnership with Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.

• Reduced wait times for key services, including cataract surgery (ranked 2nd in the province), MRI (ranked 4th in the province), and general surgery as measured by gallbladder surgeries (ranked 2nd in the province).

• New volumes secured for an additional 411 cataract surgeries, as well as additional MRI and CT operating hours.

• Reduced wait times in the Emergency Department (ED), where NHH continues to meet or exceed provincial targets. Further reduction in ED wait times were achieved in the past year resulting in performance bonuses totaling $142,700. For complex ED cases, NHH patients wait 5 hours less than the provincial average.

• Zero (0) infections for MSRA, VRE, Central Line and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.

• A 70% improvement in NHH’s c-Difficile infection rate since 2008. NHH is now trending below provincial average.

• Staff hand hygiene rates continue to outperform the provincial average.

• Patient satisfaction rates for medical/surgical inpatients continued to be very high with 95% favourable response.

In addition, Mr. Biron noted that the above accomplishments were achieved while keeping low administrative costs (at 7.5% of total expenditure) and management costs (at 4.9% of total expenditures). NHH is an efficient hospital, as demonstrated by the new provincial funding model with cost per weighted case being lower than expected for acute inpatient activity, day surgery and emergency services.

The Annual Members’ meeting was an opportunity for the CEO to announce two important developments that further emphasized the strength of NHH’s operating and strategic plans:

• In 2010, as part of its operating and budget plan, a comprehensive Alternative Level of Care (ALC) strategy was announced. In prior years, high ALC rates (approximately 25% of beds) compromised access to acute care services. The NHH ALC strategy included the closure of net seven beds, opening of a new Restorative Care program, introducing a new elder-life program, implementing the Home First philosophy, and recruiting new geriatric expertise into the organization. On June 16, 2011, NHH achieved, for the first time in its history, zero (0) ALC patients in its acute care beds.

• Earlier on the same day, the NHH Board of Directors approved a new joint venture with Lakeridge Health Corporation / Central East Regional Cancer Program to expand NHH satellite chemotherapy clinic. The joint venture will provide additional expertise and new investments at the local level, which will accommodate a doubling of the number of patient visits at NHH. The new joint venture and expanded service will be implemented in the coming year, with further details to follow.

John Hudson recognized three outgoing Directors--Lynda Kay, Robert McInnes and Henry Pankratz--for their outstanding service to NHH. Also recognized and thanked were two Ex Officio Directors who have completed their terms on the Board: Auxiliary President Patricia Fenner and Foundation Board Chair Jan Boycott.

The report of the Nominating Committee was delivered by its Chair, John Farrell. Following endorsement by the Board at its May meeting, six individuals were elected by acclamation:

• Heather Sculthorpe, Ward 1 (reappointment for a 3-year term)
• Bill Gerber, Ward 2 (reappointment for a 3-year term)
• Dean Pepper, Ward 3 (reappointment for a 3-year term)
• Beth Brook, Ward 1 (3-year term)
• Hon. Christine Stewart, P.C., Ward 2 (2-year term)
• Robert Carman, Ward 3 (1-year term)

The final order of business was brought forward by Governance Committee Chair Bill Gerber, who presented recommendations to changes in the Hospital By-law that reflected new legislative and regulatory requirements under the Excellent Care for All Act and the Public Hospitals Act. The By-law amendments were approved as presented.

Copies of the 2010/11 Annual Report were distributed at the meeting are available on the Hospital website (click here for a direct link). The Report was shared with households throughout the catchment area in the Friday, June 17 edition of Northumberland News with electronic copies available now on the Hospital’s website at www.nhh.ca.