The provincial government’s decision to consolidate the 12 existing regional health authorities into one single entity was discussed by Don Rae, chair of the Sunrise Health Region board at its meeting on January 25.
The government has released and accepted all of the recommendations in the Saskatchewan Advisory Panel on Health System Structure Report entitled “Optimizing and Integrating Patient-Centred Care”, and announced the province will consolidate the 12 existing regional health authorities (RHAs) into one single provincial health authority, Rae said. Regional Health Authority representatives, CEOs and other health region employees, client representatives and partners will be invited to participate in working groups as plans evolve with the health system transition.
Suann Laurent, president and CEO, discussed updates from her report. The annual year at a glance document was shared with board members, highlighting strategic accomplishments, events and activities from throughout the region in 2016, according to a release from Sunrise. Laurent said she had accepted a secondment opportunity to work full-time on the provincial health system transition team in Regina effective January 27.
The transition team has been tasked with the project work required to transition the health system into one provincial health authority, and includes representatives from various health regions and partner agencies, the release said. Laurent will manage the work stream focused on governance, legislation and organizational design.
During Laurent’s secondment, Christina Denysek, vice-president of strategy and partnerships, will be performing duties as interim president and CEO of Sunrise Health Region.
Governance process policies reviewed this month were for board and committee expenses, code of conduct, board team charter, conflict of interest, board planning cycle and agenda control, policy monitoring schedule, board member non-performance, and board handling of concerns and complaints.
The board received policy monitoring reports on executive limitation related to treatment of staff, occupational health and safety, prevention of abuse towards health care workers, smoking, and compensation and benefits.
The board also received the semi-annual report about client safety reporting and provincial issue alerts and quality improvement summary reports, it said. The ethics framework was reviewed and approved as presented.
In January, the board approved the purchase of capital equipment and projects totaling $154,381. The financial condition report, up to and including November 30, 2016, shows Sunrise Health Region in a surplus position with operating revenues exceeding operating expenditures by $845,349 or 0.6 per cent of budget.
The next regular meeting of the regional health authority is scheduled for March 29.
