The Sun Country Health Region is meeting most of the targeted goals when it comes to reducing surgical wait times, paid sick hours and overtime.
That information was revealed during the region's board of directors meeting held Nov. 23 in Weyburn.
Patients in the health region are receiving their required surgical services within 12 months of diagnosis, said interim president and CEO Marga Cugnet in her report to the board. Surgical dates are within three weeks of diagnosis for cancer patients.
She also said there were no reported human cases of the West Nile virus in the region this past summer and fall.
Cugnet provided information regarding immunization coverage among staff members in the region.
She also reported that the region was represented at an international career fair in the United Kingdom this fall which resulted in a number of expressions of interest from health-care professionals including physicians and there has been a good communication network set up with the University of Saskatchewan's Medical College. She said the region has also been represented at other career fairs in Medicine Hat, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Estevan and Carnduff within the past few months.
Reducing falls, especially in long-term care facilities, is a major goal, she said, since falls drastically reduce the quality of life of senior citizens.
SCHR has exceeded the goal set by the Ministry of Health in reducing the number of sick hours paid during the first and second quarters of this fiscal year. The local region reduced the hours by 8.8 per cent which bested the ministry's target of 6.2 per cent.
The region also exceeded the ministry's target of reducing overtime hours during the same period. Overtime hours were down by 11.4 per cent which was well ahead of the ministry's target of 7.8 per cent for the local health region.
SCHR however, was unable to reduce the number of lost days due to injury to meet or exceed the ministry's goal. The target was 14.8 per cent while the region's actual reduction was 6.6 per cent during the first two quarters of 2011-12.
Don Ehman, vice-president of human resources, reported that injuries from previous years continue to have a significant impact on the lost-time claims and statistics this year. The health region employs about 2,100 people.
The interim CEO also reported the start of a new program that will directly address suspected increases of substance abuse within the oil and mining sectors in southeast Saskatchewan. The program, with at least one professional assigned directly to this area of concern, will begin in December by helping to identify substance abuse and helping the industries provide a safer work environment. The Mental Health and Addictions Department in Sun Country will hire the new staff member on a temporary basis to assist the industry members in identifying the problem areas.
