Highlights of the Board of Directors’ regular public meeting
Edmundston, Tuesday, November 7, 2023 – The Board of Directors of Vitalité Health Network held its regular public meeting on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. For the first time, the meeting was streamed online and ended with a virtual exchange with the public.
The Network’s Board of a Directors took part in the first public meeting in Edmundston.
Report by the President and CEO
In her report to the Board of Directors, Dr. France Desrosiers, President and CEO, provided an update on the achievements of the last few months, such as:
- the results in terms of access to surgeries, citing the optimization project of the surgical suite of the Edmundston Regional Hospital, the creation of a surgical short stay unit at the Chaleur Regional Hospital and the increasing number of robotic-assisted surgeries. These efforts have contributed to a 31% reduction in the number of people waiting for a procedure for over 12 months, as well as a 25% increase in the number of hip and knee surgeries performed in 2022-2023;
- the progress made toward the implementation of an integrated primary health care model, which provides patients with access to a collaborative and interdisciplinary team instead of to a single health professional; deployment has started in the regions of Edmundston, Rivière-Verte and Lac Baker, in the community of Dieppe and surrounding area, as well as in the community of Shippagan, Inkerman and Miscou;
- the work done on the recruitment front with 372 new hires compared to 259 departures during the first eight months of the year. Over 400 international job offers have been accepted. An international staff hosting program has also been recently launched to facilitate their settling in here.
Patient testimonial: The integration of patients and families as care partners
Ms. Yolande LeBouthillier, who was admitted at Tracadie Hospital, was invited to give a testimonial on her participation in the project aimed at integrating patients and families as care partners.
This project involves improving communications with patients and families to allow them to actively participate in the care plan, explained Annick Roussel, nurse manager at the Medicine, Palliative and Extended Care Unit.
During weekly meet-and-greets, everyone now has the opportunity to talk to staff about their needs, level of care provided and the next steps required for discharge. The use of whiteboards and pictograms in the patients’ rooms helps to advise the family on activities, mobility exercises or food choices.
Financial results for the 2023–2024 fiscal year
The Network presented its financial results for the first five months of the 2023–2024 fiscal year, that is, from April 1 to August 31, 2023.
It ended the period with excess expenses of $40.7 million. This result is largely explained by additional spending committed in recent months to meet labour shortages, maintain essential services to the population and alleviate workloads. This includes overtime, increased retention and international recruitment efforts, and the use of clinical placement agencies.
The next regular public meeting of the Board of Directors of the Network will be held on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 1:00 p.m., in Bathurst.
