The Board of Directors of Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation held its regular monthly meeting June 20 at the Saint John Regional Hospital. The following are highlights of that meeting:

 Carpet Replacement Program

Ken Baird, Vice President Clinical and Facility Support Programs for Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation, provided Board members with an update the Carpet Replacement Program for the Saint John Regional Hospital. “It’s important to note that this strategy is aligned with AHSC’s strategic directions,” he said. “By employing a phased-in approach to carpet replacement, we are able to finance the project using existing operating funds.”  Ralph Mayfield, Manager of Engineering and Maintenance and Roy Hess, Manager of Environmental Services, joined Baird in the presentation. “The project will consist of five phases, beginning with the Cafeteria, Fast Break and the Lobby,” said Mayfield.  Noting that this would be the first replacement of carpet in these areas since the hospital was opened in 1981, Hess explained that various floor coverings would be used, including carpet, tile and linoleum. Total cost of the Carpet Replacement program is estimated to be $1.12 million.

 Report of the CEO

Prior to presenting her report, AHSC CEO Dora updated Board members on the recent accreditation survey by the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation. “We had a positive debriefing following completion of the survey, “she said. The final report will come to us sometime over the summer.”

 Nicinski then introduced Members to AHSC’s Performance Indicator Report. “With this report we will be better able to track our progress in meeting our Strategic Goals and Objectives,” she said. Nicinski explained that senior management had been developing the report format and content for some time and that “it is still a work in progress.”  The report is designed to monitor areas that best represent health care trends. “The report includes indicators such as the birthrate to mothers aged 19 and younger, the number of patients receiving dialysis and the percentage of daily or occasional smokers,“ said Nicinski. “We also monitor wait lists for cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology procedures, the time it takes patients to be admitted to hospital from an Emergency Department and how long patients wait for elective CT scans and MRI’s. Nicinski pointed out that with indicators such as these we can measure how well new initiatives are working. “When we saw the wait time for elective MRI’s and CT’s rising, schedule changes that allowed for patient appointments in the evenings were implemented. As a result we now see improved access,” she said. Board members were pleased with this new system of reporting, which will be provided quarterly. 

The following details the financial position of AHSC for the month ended May 31, 2005. These figures are based on a preliminary budget expenditure report. Final figures will be used following receipt of the 2005-06 funding allocation:

The Annual Meeting of Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation will be held on the Mezzanine level of the Delta Brunswick Hotel, King Street, Saint John on Thursday, June 23.  Staff and public are invited to attend. Refreshments will be served at 5 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Special guest speaker is Mr. Glenn Brimacombe, CEO of the Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations, who will speak to the key issues facing the Association and the federal health policy landscape.

Copyright © 2005  Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation. All rights reserved.