The hospital will never compromise on the quality of and access to health care, despite looking for efficiencies to help ease a $7.6 million deficit, says the CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
On Thursday, Dr. Rhonda Crocker Ellacott, hospital president and CEO, outlined the progress for the fourth and final year of the health-care organization’s current strategic plan, noting that provincial funding is not keeping pace with wages and general inflation — leaving the hospital in the red.
“Some of the things that we’re focusing on is how can we reduce our overtime, for example. We have a significant amount of overtime” said Crocker Ellacott.
“But if we can reduce our overtime costs then potentially we can create efficiency,” she said, noting the hospital is also looking at ways to reduce sick time costs as well as the amount of time patients spend in the hospital.
Cuts to patient programs is not an option, Crocker Ellacott said.
“We’re looking at how do we do what we do differently, more efficiently, and more responsive to patient care,” she said.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about ensuring access and quality and we will never compromise on any of that.”
There are 26 items in the strategic plan, which concludes this December. Ten of those are complete and the remainder are underway.
The overarching focus of the plan has been sustainability, said Crocker Ellacott, and they’ve done that by investing in their staff, implementing good technology to support the staff and create the infrastructure for staff to thrive and patients to receive the best possible care.
Improving emergency department wait times is something Crocker Ellacott said was “near and dear to most individuals” who have had to visit the ER.
“We’ve seen improvements in physician initial assessment time, time to inpatient bed, and a number of initiatives really aimed at improving patient flow across the organization,” she said.
The hospital has also seen an aesthetic refresh — new paint on the walls, updated waiting rooms, new beds, “all of those things that touch patients when they are in need of care,” Crocker Ellacott said.
“So really creating a facelift, so to speak, to the organization, so staff are really proud of the areas in which they work and we’re able to support patient care and modernize technology that is front-facing.”
The strategic plan also highlighted progress on the cardiovascular surgery unit currently under construction.
The unit is expected to open in 2028 and will allow patients to receive cardiac surgery in Thunder Bay instead of travelling to southern Ontario.
Crocker Ellacott said the hospital is already working to recruit and retain staff for the new unit.
As the current strategic plan nears its end, the hospital will be looking for community feedback to inform its upcoming plan that will take the health sciences centre through to 2031.
“There will be opportunities for the community to scan QR codes in the organization, and we will be able to put those out for patients, families, for community partners, for anybody to talk about what you’re looking for from your health sciences centre,” Crocker Ellacott said.
“If there are other things that we need to consider, if there are ways we can do things differently, better, more responsive, if there are things we shouldn’t be doing, we really want to hear from our community and from our partners about the best ways and how we can be more responsive to their needs.”