EFFICIENCY CITED

THOUGH LIONS Gate
Hospital is feeling the
pinch of restraint, it is
managing to maintain
the same level of service
according to a member

of the administrative
staff. .

By LOUISE TURNER

‘*In general, hospitals have
become a lot more aware of
all resources,’’ says assistant
administrator Gerry Martins,
referring to a rising interest in
using people, supplies and
equipment to their best
advantage.

As one example, staff sug-
gested that energy ceuld be
conserved in the laundry
room by using hot water to
heat cold. That, and other
energy saving moves, has
been implemented with
assistance from the provin-
cial government.

During the past fiscal year
— April 1983 to March 1984,
Operating expenses totalled
nearly $49 million, an in-
crease of about $3.5 milhon
over the previous year.

Both Jim Warne, chairman
of the hospital board's
finance committee, and Mar-
tins attribute most of that in-
crease to the reopening of 24
beds, earlier closed under the
provincial government's
restraint program, and some
nominal wage increases.

An additional $6 million
increase in assets — and
associated operating costs —
was mainly due to the 125
bed expansion of extended
care with the opening of
Evergreen House and the in-
stallation of a computer
system to assist in health care
and accounting.

“In the final analysis,’
says Martins, ‘‘1t will result in
an improvement in_ healtb
care by providing more infor
mation, more quickly °°.

Though the hospital began
the current fiscal yéar with
$1! 6 milhon surplus, partially
due to a wage settlement with
employees that was less than
anuicipated,, funds are not
usually over abundant. Sull
whereas one 1s inclined to
think that monetary pro
blems would only escalate

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with each year, martins feels
the most financially difficult
time was in 1982.

“Td think we went through

JIM WARNE

. most
increases
due to
reopenings...’’

the worst problems a couple
of years ago,’’ he says, poin-
ting to the implementation of
government restraint in June

Hospital finance picture
becomes a little brighter

of that year.

Calling it ‘‘the year of the
cutbacks’’ Martins recalls
that LGH had to close 55
beds to contend with limited
financial resources. Govern-
ment funding came in at only
about two per cent less than
the $43.5 million the hospital
received for the following
year, 1983/84. Hospital ad-
missions were down by 800
from the previous year.

Since then the hospital has
been seeking ways to adapt to
the confines of the budget
and was recently able to se
open 24 beds, because af*the
surplus. These additional
spaces are primarily for peo-
ple who require care and are

Al9 - Wednesday, September 19, 1984 - North Shore News

f

4

waiting to be admitted to a
long-term care facility.

A 10 per cent increase in
the use of day care services
such as the Medical Day Cen-
tre, psychiatric day care and
physiotherapy, has taken
some of the strain off the
main hospital as well as
decreased costs. While the
cost per day of a hospital bed
is over $300, most day care
visits costs drop to about
$25-50 or $100-$150 for day
care surgery.

Dr. Jim Corbett, medical
co-ordinator for the hospital,
says improved techniques in
day care surgery have enabl-
ed more and more people to
take advantage of the service.

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