GBHS Board of Directors celebrates accomplishments, welcomes new chair.

At its Annual General Meeting on June 26th the Grey Bruce Health Services Board of Directors acknowledged a number of successes achieved by the corporation in the past fiscal year, and recognized incoming and outgoing Board members.

The Board thanked outgoing Chair, Mark Ostland, for his leadership over the past two years, and welcomed incoming Chair, Brenda Kearney.

"We have many achievements to celebrate at GBHS, thanks to the hard work of our staff, physicians and volunteers," said GBHS President and CEO Lance Thurston. "We maintained our focus on our Mission of providing quality health care close to home and ended the year on a well-earned high note."

Board Chair, Brenda Kearny, noted "There is a sense of optimism on the Board as we set our sights on the year ahead."

GBHS finished the fiscal year ending in April with a surplus of $1.2 million on annual revenues of $192 million, and is projecting a balanced budget for the 2018/19 fiscal year. The projected budget shortfall has been eliminated by increased Provincial funding, an adjustment to the hospital's funding formula, combined with over $2 million in savings achieved through the organization's Back to Balance cost reduction strategy.

The CEO outlined a number of other year-end highlights in his report to the Board, including:

* New Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Addictions Service – Two inpatient rooms were opened at the Owen Sound Regional Hospital and full time Child and Youth workers hired, in partnership with Keystone Child, Youth and Family Services, to care for children and adolescents from Grey Bruce with acute mental health and addiction diagnoses. This is the first time GBHS has offered this type of inpatient mental health and addiction programming for youth.

* Improved Dialysis Service – The regional dialysis clinic is now open for an additional three nights a week, which allows six more patients to receive dialysis at the Owen Sound Hospital. This is a significant benefit for those patients and families who would otherwise be commuting to London three times a week for this life saving treatment.

* 11 New Physicians Hired – GBHS welcomed 11 new doctors to its six hospitals, including 1 ER physician, 3 Family Medicine doctors, 1 Neurologist, 4 Psychiatrists, and 1 Hospitalist in this fiscal year. An additional four new physicians are starting this summer.

* District Stroke Centre – Owen Sound Regional Hospital is one of 7 new District Stoke Centres in the Southwest LHIN region providing a higher standard of care to stroke patients in Grey and Bruce counties.

* Enhanced Cancer Care - With a year under its belt, the new GBHS Cancer Centre is meeting with positive reviews from patients, families, staff and physicians. It serves a fast growing need in Bruce and Grey counties.

* Indigenous Service Improvement Strategy GBHS is working with Indigenous communities in Grey Bruce, the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre, M'Wikwedong Native Cultural Centre and the Southwest LHIN to improve our delivery of culturally sensitive and safer health care.

* Five Year Capital Plan – The capital needs of the organization are outlined in a forward-focused five-year planning horizon. Three significant priorities for enhanced capital spending are:

• MRI replacement

• Mental Health and Addiction Services upgrades

• Surgical Services/Medical Device Reprocessing upgrades

The CEO's full report to the Board of Directors is available on the GBHS website, along with a complete list of the GBHS Board members.

source: media release, GBHS