Abouts Us

Board Meeting Highlights

Board Highlights
March 26, 2008

At last night’s meeting of the Tri-Board of St. Joseph’s, Public General and Sydenham District Hospitals, Directors:

• Heard a report from its Mission & Quality Committee noting:
  
  • Accomplishments of the Great People Great Place Committee (Canada’s top 100 employer application; Tri- Board Awards for Excellence; Employee Council; healthy lifestyle initiatives; and tuition assistance program)
  • LEAN/Six Sigma - an organizational transformation initiative beginning this Spring - to facilitate methodologies for continued improvements in quality, patient safety, patient and staff satisfaction and cost reduction to Balanced Scorecard results for the Medicine Program
  • Ongoing emergency planning initiatives.
• Heard that planning continues towards the start of MRI service in Chatham-Kent in June. Fundraising efforts, led by the Foundation of CKHA, are ongoing.
• Reviewed financial statements from its Finance, Audit & Resources Committee for February 2008, noting a year-end surplus from operations of $776,000 – improved from the previous month’s forecast. Clinical activity statistics are nearer to expected volumes.
• Approved a capital budget for 2008-09 of $12,167,260 for prioritized expenditures including patient care equipment, building improvements, and information systems.
• Congratulated Administration, physicians and staff on eliminating long-term debt and dramatically improving working capital over the past the 3 years.
• Submitted the Hospital Service Accountability Agreement to the Erie St. Clair LHIN. 
• Noted continued education and communication with staff, patients and families, visitors and public on the importance of frequent hand-washing to reduce the potential spread of infection. For public convenience, waterless soap dispensers are available for use upon arrival and departure from the hospitals, located at all entrances and exits. 
• Acknowledged March 28th as Chatham-Kent’s annual Doctors’ Day – an opportunity for patients, public and hospital staff to extend appreciation to local physicians. 
• Received the Spring edition of Health + Wellbeing magazine featuring Tri-Board Award recipients, Emergency Departments, tips for better health, MRI campaign and donor profile of Freedom 55. The magazine is published three times annually to support health education, recruitment, reward and recognition, donor and community relations. 
• Noted the March 29th Job Fair at CKHA campuses in Chatham and Wallaceburg. The recruitment initiative is geared to attract Registered Nurses, Registered Practical Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Patient Flow Coordinators, Respiratory Therapists, Ultrasound Technologists and MRI Technologists. (news release previously issued)  
• Encouraged community participation in local health, wellness, environmental and fundraising events:  

              o Global Earth Hour, March 29th (8-9pm)
              o Recent Advances on Alzheimer’s Disease, April 7th
              o What you need to know about Spinal Health, April 8th
              o Annual Parade of Chefs, April 10th
              o Skills for Healing, Cancer Weekend Retreat, April 18-20th
              o Ask an Expert About Prostate Cancer, April 28th

Additional details appear on CKHA’s website under Special Events

The next Tri-Board meeting is April 29, 2008 beginning at 6:30 pm in CKHA’s Education Centre. Kindly RSVP to 519-437-6001.

‘Board Highlights’ is published by the Communications & Community Relations Department for the information of staff, media and community and is posted on the Alliance’s website, www.ckha.on.ca