Windsor Regional Hospital is efficient with high regard in patient care, but its CEO says aging infrastructure is leading to tough decisions about staffing.
Hospital President and CEO David Musyj provided a fiscal update to media at the Metropolitan Campus Friday morning. This update is the capper of a long-term optimization review of WRH's overall operations since the restructuring with Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in 2013.
The review covered all aspects of hospital operations, from the frequency of patient care to the market the hospital serves. It also provided comprehensive insight into financial health in relation to patient care and services provided as the drive toward the new mega-hospital continues.
Musyj said the hospital will continue to receive additional support from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. But even with that, the hospital has revealed a sum of $7.3 million in cost savings as it strives to balance its budget in 2019-2020. With that, Musyj says 80 positions are being cut in non-clinical departments like food and housekeeping.
The CEO insisted that direct patient care will see no change and they hope the positions can be eliminated without layoffs.
"I can tell you that probably twenty of them have already occurred and are already in place," said Musyj. "We're going to do as many of those through attrition and retirements."
Musyj said quality patient care is dependent on a strong food service system, which he says is the envy of other hospitals. However, the review shows that with the high quality, food costs are higher than for most other hospitals.
"Other hospitals don't have that, and we're compared to other hospitals," said Musyj. "When they look at us, they say 'You've got to get those costs under control', so, unfortunately, we have to make changes and that reduces staff."
An older infrastructure is complicating matters in that regard, added Musyj, with $4 million being spent on building maintenance alone, and hydro costs at around $600,000 a year despite efforts to conserve electricity in non-essential areas.
There was also plenty of positive news in the review. The report also indicated that the hospital has a strong board and administrative structure that is capable of meeting and exceeding efficiency standards. It also said the hospital, considering its position in a region where there are a lot of health and socioeconomic challenges, surpasses expectations of patient care.
"In general we're very highly clinically efficient," said Musyj. "It also says we have some of the highest-intensity patients among its peers and has achieved the lowest re-admission rates of its peer group."
The complete financial report is available online at the hospital's official website.
