The Grey Bruce Health Services Board of Directors held their Annual General Meeting last week, and celebrated many accomplishments from the past fiscal year. The Board also approved a new Strategic Plan for 2022-2025, and took the opportunity to recognize retiring Board members and welcome new members.
Two Board members are retiring from the Board – Al White and Dr. Paul Middlebrook, Chief of Medical Staff. The Board welcomed new Board members Randall Kahgee, lawyer and former Chief of Saugeen First Nation; lawyer Judy Wilson and Dr. Mike Williams, Emergency Medicine physician, as the new Chief of Medical Staff.
In addition to managing the ongoing impacts from COVID-19, GBHS staff and physicians, with the support of volunteers, Foundations, and many community partners, successfully implemented a number of projects aimed at improving services for patients across the seven GBHS facilities.
“We’ve expanded patient services, completed several major infrastructure projects, and purchased a significant amount of new equipment in the past year,” said GBHS President and CEO Gary Sims. “In addition, our new Markdale Hospital is now 50% complete, which is a major milestone. We are very proud of all of our people for their accomplishments during another challenging year in healthcare.”
A summary of the past fiscal year’s highlights is below.
Service Expansion
- Received funding for a significant expansion to addiction and mental health services
- Doubled the non-urgent patient transportation fleet to six vehicles to transfer patients between sites
- Staffed clinics on Saugeen First Nations and Chippewas of Nawash to support mental health and addictions
- Purchased new cataract equipment to expand ophthalmology services at the Meaford Hospital
- Launched Virtual Urgent Care program so patients have access to medical care from home
New Equipment (thanks to our five hospital Foundations)
- Added 35 new Defibrillators across the corporation for emergency cardiac care
- Purchased 6 new infant warmers to care for newborns
- Installed new x-ray machines in Meaford, Southampton and Owen Sound
Staff/Physicians/Volunteers
- Welcomed 9 new physician specialists and 10 family physicians to the area
- Trained 150 medical students/residents
- Launched a new leadership development program for staff
- Hired over 400 new employees
- Welcomed our volunteers back into hospital after COVID-19 restrictions eased
GBHS’s new Strategic Plan will guide the organization for the challenges ahead, including staffing pressures, and the number of patients presenting with more serious illness. Like hospitals across Ontario, GBHS has high vacancy rates in some departments, and is continuing its focus on recruitment and retention. As emergency department visits start to climb back to pre-pandemic levels, GBHS is beginning to see sicker patients whose care had been delayed in the past two years, which will put additional pressure on all hospital services.
Distribution of the new Strategic Plan will begin next month.
