October 5, 2005

The Board of Directors of Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation held its regular monthly meeting October 4 at the Fairmont Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrews. The following are highlights of that meeting:

Report of the CEO

In her report, Dora Nicinski, President and CEO of Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation, highlighted the special achievements of the Atlantic Health Sciences Sleep Centre and the Residency Program of AHSC’s Pharmacy department as each successfully attained accreditation. The Canadian Hospital Pharmacy Residency Board awarded the Residency Program of the Pharmacy Department accreditation status. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine granted a five-year accreditation to Atlantic Health Sciences Sleep Centre, making it the first accredited sleep centre in Canada. “These are both great accomplishments,” said Nicinski. “I congratulate the staff members of these programs and thank them for their diligence in preparing for these accreditation surveys.” Nicinski also explained to Board members that the Saint John Regional Hospital Level III Containment lab has successfully achieved recertification confirmation that the lab meets all lab bio-safety guideline requirements for work with containment level III human pathogens.

Nicinski reported that a major project has begun to develop a master plan for the first floor of the Saint John Regional Hospital. “This will enable us to look at space requirements from a comprehensive perspective,” said Nicinski. “Practice changes, changes in technology and a significant growth in patient volumes in Emergency, Dialysis and Ambulatory Clinics have resulted in a need to optimize our use of space. We will develop a functional plan for the Emergency Department and Diagnostic Imaging.”

Nicinski said that AHSC is working to encourage staff to access AHSC’s internal Intranet, LINKS. Ten computer kiosks have been set up in facilities throughout AHSC. This effort combines with the launch of a new “classified ad” forum on AHSC’s electronic bulletin board.

AHSC’s Patient Registry was updated in September. At that time 3,420 people across health region 2 were listed as not having access to a family physician. That number included 988 in Charlotte County, 851 in Sussex and 1,581 in greater Saint John.  The Patient Registry may be accessed by calling 648-6232. You may also use the form on the AHSC website at www.ahsc.health.nb.ca. “We expect that the arrival of new family physicians in St. Stephen and Saint John will significantly reduce these numbers,” said Nicinski.

Nicinski reported to Board members on emergency services throughout the region. “It continues to be our intention to return to pre-summer hours of operation at the Urgent Care Centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital. We have introduced Nurse Practitioners and we have successfully recruited one physician to work exclusively at St. Joseph’s Urgent Care Centre,” she said. “A second physician is working at St. Joseph’s on a exploratory basis for three months. It is not yet possible to determine a date for a return to pre-summer hours.”  A physician has been recruited to work at the Saint John Regional Hospital. Dr. Michael Kahn is currently doing his three-month orientation at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

The Emergency Department at Sussex Health Centre closed due to lack of physician resources for three 12-hour shifts in August. Physician unavailability caused the closure of the Emergency Department at Charlotte County Hospital three times in September. Nursing and Ambulance staffing was available during the hours of ER closure.  Dr. Ray Braun has now been recruited to Sussex and will work in the Emergency department.

Nicinski shared information from the province’s Annual Report of Hospital Services with Board members. She explained that AHSC compares favourably with other Regional Health Authorities when tracking total expenses.

Finance Committee

Pacemakers: RFP # 05-007 was issued March 11, 2005 for the supply of pacemakers and leads. The RFP closed April 1, 2005. Proposals were received from four suppliers: Medtronic of Canada, St. Jude Medical, Guidant Canada and Sorin Group. The Finance Committee recommended to the Board the following:

That contracts be awarded to Medtronic of Canada and Sorin Group totalling $944,660 for the supply of pacemakers and leads as specified in RFP 05-007 (Medtronic Contract Value $730,800, Sorin contract value $213,860.)

Other

• Ken Baird, AHSC Vice-President of Facility and Clinical Support Services was named Chairman of the Professional Advisory Committee

• Planning for PET Scan capability at the Saint John Regional Hospital continues. The first such scan is expected to be performed in September 2006.

• Carole Cunningham of Saint John has been appointed to the Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation Ethics Committee.

• The Rules and Regulations governing AHSC’s Medical Staff Organization have been approved.

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