Highlights of the Board of Directors’ regular public meeting
Bathurst, Tuesday, December 8, 2020 – The Board of Directors of Vitalité Health Network held its regular public meeting on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 via an online conferencing system.
Welcome to the new President and CEO
In her opening remarks, the Chair of the Board of Directors, Michelyne Paulin, welcomed Dr. France Desrosiers as the new President and CEO of Vitalité Health Network. “I would like to congratulate Dr. Desrosiers on her new position and wish her all the best in her new duties,” she said. “Despite the current issues and challenges, I know very well that she has all the qualities and skills needed to fulfill her new duties as President and CEO brilliantly. She has our full support in achieving the Network’s mission to improve the population’s health,” concluded the Chair.
Update on the COVID-19 pandemic
In her report, the President and CEO provided an update on the situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, she noted that the Network has had to boost certain infection prevention and control measures again over the course of the fall to ensure the safety of patients, visitors and staff. “From a medical standpoint, the experience of recent months has provided us with an opportunity to review and adjust a number of protocols in place,” she said. Dr. Desrosiers highlighted the excellent work of Public Health employees with respect to tracing the close contacts of COVID-19 cases to contain the spread of the virus.
Surgical services
Sharon Smyth-Okana, Acting VP of Clinical Services, gave an overview of the key initiatives taken by the Network in recent months to improve surgical services. She highlighted that notable improvements have been made to the wait list for arthroplasty of the knee (total knee replacement) and hip (total hip replacement), especially in the Beauséjour zone. “In comparison to 2016, we noted a 24% reduction of the wait list in this zone,” stated Ms. Smyth Okana. The Network also indicated that 79% of knee replacements were performed within the prescribed six months, compared to 46% in 2016.
Ms. Smyth-Okana also presented the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) project that has been underway in the Acadie-Bathurst zone since January 2020 and that resulted in a stay shortened from 7.7 to 5.1 days in a group of participating patients. The Network’s other major projects include the surgical short stay, the transfer of cataract surgeries from the Surgical Suite at Edmundston Regional Hospital to Ambulatory Care at Grand Falls General Hospital and better post-operative follow-up of patients. Dr. Desrosiers wanted to highlight the outstanding work accomplished in surgical services. “The Network is making a mark provincially in terms of results, and we can be proud of this,” she concluded.
Financial results for the 2020–2021 fiscal year
The Network presented its financial results for the first six months of the 2020–2021 fiscal year, i.e. from April 1 to September 30, 2020. The organization ended the period with a $1.6 million operating surplus. This result is largely explained by the temporary downturn of regular activities during the pandemic. On another note, given the Department of Health’s preparation of the 2021-2022 capital budget, the Network submitted major equipment priorities totalling $15.6 million and capital improvement project requests totalling $6.9 million.
The next regular public meeting of the Board of Directors of Vitalité Health Network will be held on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at 1:00 p.m.
