October 31, 2007

The Board of Directors of Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation held its regular monthly meeting October 29, 2007 at St. Patrick’s Hall in Milltown, New Brunswick. The following are highlights of that meeting:

Ethics presentation

Dr. Timothy Christie, Director of Ethics Services for Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation gave a presentation entitled Ethics and Ethical Decision-Making that introduced Board members to the basic elements of the Ethics Framework and presented a case study to show the application of the framework. The presentation evoked discussion among Board members and Chairperson Paschal Chisholm thanked Dr. Christie for bringing such an interesting topic to the meeting.

Report of the CEO

President and CEO Dora Nicinski provided Board members with information on improved wait times in the NB Heart Centre. “Since the third cardiac catheterization laboratory opened in April 2006 patient wait times are well within national standards,” she said.

Nicinski also provided Board members with statistical evidence that the expanded hours of service at St Joseph’s Urgent Care Centre has improved patient access to care. In 2007, patient visits to the Emergency Department at the Saint John Regional Hospital are at 38,110 to the end of September and during the same time period St. Joseph’s Urgent Care Centre had 30,639 patient visits. In the 2006-07 fiscal year (April1/06 to March 31/07) St. Joseph’s Urgent Care Centre handled 26,590 patient visits and patient visits to the Emergency Department at Saint John Regional Hospital totaled 60,436.

Nicinski also provided Board members with a schedule of flu immunization clinics throughout hospital facilities in health region 2. “Immunization against the influenza virus is a smart choice to protect yourself and your family,” she said.

Public Question Period

During this time suggestions were received by the Board Chairperson for improving communications with the public to encourage attendance at monthly meetings of the Board of Directors

Finance Committee

	6 Months ended September 2007	6 Months ended September 2006
Shareable Surplus (Deficit)	($1.771) M	($1.408) M
Medicare Deficit	($0.442 M)	($0.392 M)
Non-shareable Surplus (Deficit)	$0.279 M	$0.358 M
Board Surplus	($1.793) M	$0.639 M
Amortization of Assets	($0.503 M)	($0.684 M)
Total Surplus (Deficit)	($4.230) M	($1.487 M)

Medical Advisory Committee

In his report, Chief of Staff Dr. Brian Wheelock welcomed Dr. James Ashfield as Acting Clinical Department Head of Urology. Dr. Wheelock also acknowledged former Clinical Department Head Dr. Michael Morse for his years of service in this position.

Professional Advisory Committee

The Committee was provided with an overview of the Accreditation program. The 2006-07 Annual Report of the Professional Advisory Committee was circulated to members. The report detailed the PAC’s activities and accomplishments.

Other

• Chairperson Paschal Chisholm spoke to the passing of Dr. Henrik Tonning. “He is to be remembered as a man of vision with foresight for professional growth,” he said.
• Mr. Chisholm also reported to the Board that a letter of support for diabetes advocacy had been sent to the Minister of Health. This was done is response to a request made to the Board following last month’s video presentation on diabetes advocacy by health professionals from St. Joseph’s Community Health Centre.

Contact: Patricia Crowdis
Director of Communications and Media Relations
648-6116

Copyright © 2007 Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation. All rights reserved.