A Caring Sunday, 1“ LIONS GATE HOSPI ommunity Preparing For Health Reforms Reporting On A Year Of Change1 993-1994 To our Community: Weare pleased to report to you on the affairs of Lions Gate Hospital. This past year has been full of change as we began to respond to the government's reforms for the health system. While implementing these changes, our staff continued to meet the needs of North Shore residents and maintain high scandards of care, As a community, we can be immensely proud of our hospital's achievements. New Directions For A Healthy British Columbia The blueprint tor health reform, New Directions for a Healthy British Columbia, was released in February 1993, and we have started working towards many of the ele- ments in this ambitious plan. The key New Directions are: * Better Health * Greater Public Participation and Responsibility ¢ Bringing Health Closer to Home * Respecting the Care Provider ¢ Effective Management of the New Health System, — Along with these new initiatives some of the other major successes and challenges of the past year include: New CT Scanner And ORs Improve Patient Care With the help of the Ministry of Health, Greater Vancouver Regional District, Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, Auxiliary to Lions Gate Hospital and hundreds of citizens and businesses, we received the funds to install a replacement CT Scanner ($1.7 million) and to renovate and re-equip three Operating Rooms ($1.5 million). These projects enabled us to improve the care for our patients and reduce the time a patient stays in hospital. It is gratifying to receive such support from our community, and we thank those groups and individuals who continue to make a commitment to sustain and develop the North Shore's community hospital. Critical Care Units Merge In March, 1994, we combined the Intensive Care and Coronary Care Units. This new 1 1-bed unit replaces two six-bed units. The changeover was planned by medical and nursing staff working in these areas to address patient care and operating cost issues. Food Partnership Announced With Burnaby Hospital For some years, we have investigated solutions to updating our food production system, which dates back to 1962. Providing a new system would have cost $6.8 million, However, in these times of fiscal restraint and shared resources, we chose to enter into a food production partnership plan with Burnaby Hospital, with capital savings of over $3 million and annual savings of up to $800,000. Planning is now underway leading to an ex- pected changeover in March, 1995. ' Patient Care Activity-A 5 Year Comparison 1990 Acute, LTC Admissions Births Inpatient Surgeries Daycare Surgeries/Minor Treatment Emergency Visits Other Outpatient/Daycare Visits Acute Beds in Operation Extended Care & Discharge Planning Beds Average Length of Stay (days) Robert J. Smith, President and CEO, and Len Kelsey, Chair, Board of Directors 15,218 1,765 6,996 12,426 56,180 115,912 157,429 40! 319 UEC Cancels Intern Program Several factors—reduced university funding, the desire to train medical students in rural settings, and a national standard for 2-year intern programs-led to a decision by UBC to cancel the Intern Program at Lions Gate Hospital. Our program had, for 10 years, annually trained 12-15 cop graduates. Many of these young physicians went on to become key members of our medical seaff. As a result of the UBC decision, physicians, in conjunction with nursing departments, have reorganized their work to ensure the ongoing needs of patients continuc to be met. Agreement Brings Shorter Work Week Anew labour agreement was negotiated in July, 1993, between the government, unions and hospitals, with the aim of downsizing acute care hospitals by 10-percent over the next three years. This agreement was difficult to implement for two reasons, Firstly, it reduced our work week to 36-hours, requiring every one of our 2500 staff to reschedule their work rotations to meet patient care needs. Secondly, 23 employees were transferred to us when Shaughnessy Hospital closed in September, 1993, and the cost of these additional employees had to be met within our existing budget. Physicians Opt Out Of Medical Services Plan Some physicians at Lions Gate Hospital left the medical plan in 1993. This decision was controversial, and up to 18 * members were out of the plan at one time. The hospital worked hard to ensure that access to patient services was noc impeded by the new billing arrangements. Many physicians have since rejoined the medical plan, and recently we learned that a tentative agreement has been proposed which would eliminate their administra- tive surcharges, A Look Ahead The process of health reform has achieved a momentum which will carry it forward with increasing speed. We will see significant changes in the governance and administrative roles of Lions Gate Hospital. As the North Shore becomes regionalized, the Hospital Board will be dissolved and a new Board of Directors will cake responsibility for the l:ospital, public health, mental health, continuing care, hume support, and alcohol and drug services. The timing of the winding down of the North and West Vancouver Hospital Society is currently unknown but should be within the next 12 months, A new organization will see an integrated administration, intended to enhance the health status of our North Shore communities. We are committed to implementing the government's health policy, and will work to ensure an efficient transi- tion from the traditional structure of health care toa new seamless continuum of care. 1994 15,060 1,765 6.550 13,574 55,362 Condensed Financial Statement A Five Year Comparison (in thousands of dollars) 1990 1994 Toral Revenue 79,752 100,676 Total Expenses 77,716 100,669 362 Net Surplus 2,036 7 319 7.3 Audited financial statements are 7.8 available for review. ‘ 4 SOF June 26, 1994 - North Shore News - 19 moys ‘ At Lions Gate Hospital we are committed to providing exemplary health care for the benefit of the communities of the North Shore and the Province of British Columbia. Our care respects the dignity of others, is competent and cost effective. Joan Andrews Richard Baker Victor Bennington Patricia Boname | Ernie Crist Wolfgang Felix Diana Hutchinson Len Kelsey, Chair Dave Kirkwood Shiraz, Lalji Sue Lumb Richard Lupton Jay McPherson Frank Morris Barbara Sharp Grant Spitz Jon Squire Norman Stark John Tanton Robert Smith, President & CEO Lynette Best, Vice President, Nursing/Patient Care Services Ulrich Haag, Vice President, Human Resources/Support Services Stewart Madill, Vice President, Medlical/ Diagnostic Services Thomas Stevens, Vice President, Financial Information Services Leslie Janz, Chief of Staff Brian O'Connor, Medical Health Officer Richard Lupton, President, Medical Staff General Meeting Wednesday, September 21 at 7:00pm Lions Gate Hospital Auditorium For information: 988-3131 oe