After nearly 15 years of governing healthcare in southeast Saskatchewan, the Sun Country Regional Health Authority gathered for its final meeting on Nov. 29 in Weyburn.
Dean Biesenthal, who has been the acting CEO for the Sun Country Health Region (SCHR) since late September, said the meeting marked a transition point for the board. A reception was held after the meeting.
“It was a nice tribute and farewell that we were able to provide,” said Biesenthal. “The board itself wasn’t looking to transition out, so it was certainly a difficult day to go through, but it was just like any other board meeting in the end.”
A Wall Walk during the meeting represented a continuation of the strategy the health region has been working on during this fiscal year, which started April 1. Safety is a big part of the initiative.
“We did a recap on the last few months of where all the 31 different individual safety teams across the region are at, what accomplishments have been made, the targets that are hit and of course some corrective action plans in the areas of the targets that we aren’t meeting,” he said.
The only target not met at this point is the number of accepted Worker’s Compensation Plan claims for the health region.
The health region ended as a corporate entity on Dec. 4 with the proclamation of the new Saskatchewan Health Authority legislation. But the operations will remain in tact for the time being, Biesenthal said, and the structure and direction of the health region will also remain the same for the time being.
“The positive through all of this is that same message that has been consistently and transparently shared is that things are status quo until we hear otherwise, so we have been continuing in that capacity, working as Sun Country Health Region, and providing the same safe and wonderful healthcare to our patients, residents and clients over the last few months,” said Biesenthal.
The provincial government has repeatedly stated this amalgamation won’t affect front line healthcare, but Biesenthal said there are concerns among some employees about the impact of this change.
The majority of the leadership team and some of the other managers have been assigned to work with transition teams across the province in each service line to support the Saskatchewan Health Authority in its transition into operation. They look at the state of every health region, analyze the regions and make recommendations and plans for the leadership of the new health authority.
The number of Sun Country executive team members who will be transitioning over to the new health authority isn’t known yet, he said. The board has been appointed, CEO Scott Livingstone has been hired, and a number of other vice-presidents are in place.
“All of the current leadership team or previous vice-presidents who are still in place today have been transitioned,” said Biesenthal. “They all have new titles called executive transition leads, and of course they’re specific to their individual areas.
“At this point, there will be new opportunities that arise through the new Sask. Health Authority. Those positions will all be posted, and we all have opportunities to apply into those positions. And if people are not successful, there will be a point in time where individuals could exit the organization.”
The new board, which includes Sun Country board chair Marilyn Charleton, is beginning its orientation, Biesenthal said, and had its first meeting on Monday.
