The Sun Country Health Region has found itself in the crosshairs yet again.
The latest group to train their sights on the beleaguered health organization is the Saskatchewan NDP party who issued a press release Monday afternoon demanding that the provincial government immediately fire Sun Country's board of directors for what they called severe mismanagement of the region.
"The Sun Country Health Region's board has grossly mismanaged the region yet the health minister has done nothing to correct the problems," said Judy Junor, the NDP's health critic. "The minister appointed the board which has lost the confidence of the people of Sun Country. They deserve a competent board and the minister needs to appoint a new board that will clean up this mess."
Among the examples of the board's mismanagement cited by the NDP were the closure of five long-term care beds in Wawota and the fact that more than 140 health positions in the region are still vacant. Junor said according to the health careers website, there are 27 support service position vacancies, 58 nursing vacancies, 11 physician openings and 48 other health vacancies in comparison to just one management position opening.
Junor also took aim at the board's handling of Sun Country finances, claiming in her press release that the region is running a $25 million deficit. She also took umbrage of the settlement given to former CEO Cal Tant who was fired in 2010.
"The board fired CEO Cal Tant without cause and are paying him $187,000 in severance after he left the region in total chaos," Junor said. "It is completely unacceptable for the health minister and the Sask. Party MLA for Cannington, Dan D'Autremont, to sit back and allow five long-term care beds to close in Wawota to save $110,000 when they are paying an enormous severance to an incompetent CEO."
"Residents in the area are fighting tooth-and-nail to keep the beds open so seniors can stay in their community. The minister must fire the board of directors he appointed and immediately appoint a new board. The people of Sun Country deserve a competent board that will make sound decisions with the community in mind."
Monday's blast from the NDP is just the latest in an ongoing series of headaches for Sun Country. In 2010, the region had to deal with a hiring scandal involving former chief financial officer Hal Schmidt who was hired despite knowledge that he had lied on his resume when applying for a position elsewhere in the country. The Schmidt incident ultimately cost Tant his job as the board removed him from the picture in September.
Earlier this year, Sun Country came public with information that an employee had been disciplined for breaching the privacy rights of 66 patients. Although Sun Country itself blew the whistle on the privacy breach, it was sharply criticized for not firing the employee.
