PEMROKE, June 16, 1997 - The Health Services Restructuring Commission today endorsed the governance plan for Pembroke General Hospital.
On February 25, 1997, the Commission directed Pembroke General Hospital to develop a plan for a governance structure that is representative of the community in terms of its ethnic, linguistic, religious, cultural and socio-economic composition. The plan was to address representation on the board of directors, and the nomination and selection process for the board of directors of Pembroke General Hospital.
The Commission strongly supports the need to develop local solutions and approaches to implement restructuring, said Commissioner George Lund. "The recommendations in the facilitator's report represent the best efforts of many people and are significant because they reflect the ideas and input from people who live in the community. The Commission accepts them as a reasonable and responsive approach to selecting a board of directors."
Highlights of the facilitator's report
A candidate for the office of Director of Pembroke General Hospital shall be required to support a number principles. These relate to the need to facilitate restructuring implementation; fair and equitable treatment of all local hospital employees; respect for the mission and values of Pembroke General Hospital; and recognition of the contributions of existing boards.
The Board of Directors of Pembroke General Hospital shall consist of ex officio directors such as the President (or designate) of the Grey Sister of the Immaculate Conception Health System, one member of the Corporation of the Pembroke General Hospital, and those individuals required by the Ontario Public Hospitals Act.
It will also consist of nine elected directors who shall be representative of the communities served and reflect the demographic, cultural, linguistic, geographic, ethnic, religious and social characteristics of Pembroke and Renfrew County.
In order to facilitate the selection of board members representative of the community, a new nomination process is recommended in Mr. Kelly's report. The nine directors shall be selected by a Nominating Committee composed of:
"This will ensure a reasonable measure of fairness, and show the need for broad agreement between the parties on acceptable candidates," said Mr. Lund.
The Nominating Committee shall submit its recommendations in writing to the Members of the Corporation of Pembroke General Hospital by August 15, 1997. Following the election of the new Board of Directors, the report of the Nominating Committee shall be published and made available for public inspection.
Following this initial process, the new Board of Directors of Pembroke General Hospital will enact a by-law outlining the future nominating process and submit the by-law to the Commission for approval.
Moving forward with confidence
The Board of Directors of Pembroke General Hospital has formally accepted the report of the facilitator and has submitted the recommendations to the Commission as its governance plan. The Commission has approved the Pembroke General Hospital governance plan.
Mr. Lund acknowledged that developing the governance plan for Pembroke General Hospital was a challenge. "It is a tribute to the community that it has overcome considerable diversity to reach -- if not total consensus -- then widespread support for the principles expressed in the plan," he said.
The Commission also commended the community for proceeding with the implementation of restructuring while the governance plan was being finalized. "This requires collaboration and trust in one another. The leadership and commitment evident in the community will lead to an effective and community-oriented implementation of restructuring in Pembroke."
The Health Services Restructuring Commission is a group of individuals appointed by the Government of Ontario to redesign the Ontario health system. It is an independent agency of doctors, academic health science professionals, hospital administrators, former hospital board members and other experts. The Commissioners work with local district health councils, hospital administrators and other health professionals to restructure health services for each community. The Commission has a four-year mandate to restructure systems and advise the Minister of Health on reinvesting in and restructuring other services to meet the health needs of the people of Ontario.
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Media contact: Ruth Lewkowicz (416) 327-5504
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