The Lakeridge Health Board of Trustees has passed a balanced budget for the fifth year in a row that increases investment in new equipment for the hospital network. The budget also identifies further efficiencies to deal with a multi-year funding freeze.
“We’re gaining momentum as a quality and safety leader. Our mission is to keep that momentum with investments in new technology and equipment that will improve care for people, while also balancing our budget,” says Bonnie St. George, Chair of the Lakeridge Health Board of Trustees. “That’s what we’ve been able to achieve.”
In 2013 Lakeridge Health hired 150 new nurses and brought on 27 new doctors and 3 new midwives. Lakeridge Health has also been cited for its success in reducing infection rates for superbugs like C. difficile and became the first hospital in North America to move toward a fully integrated digital pathology system that shortens wait times for complex diagnoses from 4 to 6 months down to 4 to 6 days.
“We’ve got some of the lowest infection rates in the province. And we’re bringing wait times down with innovations like digital pathology, a North American first right here at Lakeridge Health,” says Kevin Empey, President and CEO of Lakeridge Health.
Some highlights of Lakeridge Health’s plans for 2014/15 include:
- New kidney dialysis machines that help hundreds of people with kidney disease lead healthy, active lifestyles;
- Constructing a new regional pharmacy department at the Oshawa site;
- New equipment to manage medications on patient units in order to improve safety and quality;
- New incubators for our smallest patients;
- New ceiling lifts to help keep our team safe while lifting people in or out of bed;
- Senior-friendly renovations to the patient rooms at the Port Perry site; and,
- New hospital beds that can increase comfort as well as safety.
Empey noted that the Ontario government’s goal is to reduce the cost of hospital care, and move any procedures out of hospital where quality can be met in a community setting with reduced costs. “This places even more pressure on us to reduce our cost structure in order to maintain our services. We have achieved that with this budget. We’re always looking for ways to be smarter about how we do things and maximize the value of every dollar taxpayers invest in this hospital,” says Empey.
Over $2.3 million was saved through administrative and overhead cost reductions. Additional savings will be found through improving our productivity, by reducing our cost structure in clinical areas, through initiatives like maximizing use of available of Operating Room time and having clinical staff work to their full scope of practice to ensure patients receive the right care, in the right place, by the right people.
“We expect hospital funding to be frozen for some time to come, so we need to keep looking at ways to become more efficient and deliver the safest, highest quality health care for families in Durham Region,” says Empey.
Quick Facts:
- Lakeridge Health has a budget of over $465 million, with over 4,000 staff and over 460 doctors.
- Compensation costs account for 70% of the budget, with medication and medical and surgical supply costs accounting for another 10%.
- Future cost of living increases for employees and other inflationary pressures of $5-10 million annually must be found through savings and efficiencies.