SUDBURY, May 2, 1997 -- The Health Services Restructuring Commission today released its directions regarding the governance structure for the Sudbury Regional Hospital Corporation.

In its report, the Commission directed that the Sudbury Regional Hospital Corporation will be accountable for the provision of all hospital-based acute care, transitional care, chronic care and rehabilitation services within the Sudbury Region.

The directions also provide for the short and long term involvement of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie in delivering health services in Sudbury, if they so wish, through contractual relationships between the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sudbury Regional Hospital Corporation.

The proposed short term role would see the Sisters of St. Joseph entering into a contractual relationship to wind down the operations of the Paris Street site under the direction of the new Sudbury Regional Hospital. The Sisters would retain management of the building and related premises, with the costs covered by the new hospital as long as the property is required for services delivered by the Sudbury Regional Hospital.

The Sisters would employ the following staff: Chief Executive Officer, Director of Mission, Director of Pastoral Care, sisters and chaplains working at the Paris Street site. In addition, the Sisters would maintain control of the Catholic mission on the Paris Street site as long as it is in operation, in that physicians and employees of the Sudbury Regional Hospital who work on the site would abide by the ethical and value systems of the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The proposed long term role for the Sisters is to contract with the Sudbury Regional Hospital to provide management services for the operation of chronic hospital care, transitional/sub-acute care and hospital-based palliative care.

It has always been the Commission's view that governance models are available that will satisfy the requirement for integration of health services and that also address cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic considerations. It is the responsibility of local community leaders to explore and develop models that satisfy their unique circumstances.

"The Governance Planning Task Force in Sudbury has done just that," said Commissioner Dr. Maureen Law. "The contractual relationship between the Sisters and the Sudbury Regional Hospital Corporation is unique to Sudbury. The Commission believes that it is an appropriate response for Sudbury and may present a possible solution for other communities.

"This solution will preserve the tradition and role of Catholic governance in the Sudbury hospital system while moving restructuring forward to preserve and improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of services in the future," she added.

The Sisters of St. Joseph have until May 5, 1997 to indicate to the Commission whether they will accept the short and long term roles outlined in the Directions.

The following issues also are clarified in the Directions:

• The Commission directed the Transition Team, once established, to appoint a Project Manager within the first 30 days. If they fail to do so, then the Commission will intervene and appoint one for them.

• The Commission does not have the legal authority to make Foundations direct their funds to the new hospital or its foundation. As a result, the Commission adjusted its Directions to reflect advice to the Foundations rather than directions.

• Since Sudbury has a significant francophone population and a significant history of provision of French language services, the Commission felt that membership of the Transition team should reflect these community characteristics.

• The Commission, in response to a need highlighted in the submissions, added a physician member to the Transition Team. The medical society and staff associations of the hospitals will appoint a physician to the team.

The next steps in Sudbury will be to establish the Transition Team based on the representation outlined in the Directions. This team, chaired by an appointee of the Regional Council Chairman, will be responsible in the coming months for the finalization of the Sudbury Regional Hospital Corporation.

The Commission also commended the Governance Planning Task Force for recognising that the provision of French language services is a priority and we support their efforts in highlighting this need in their plan. The Sudbury Regional Hospital will ensure continuing access to services in both official languages and one-third of the representation of the Board will come from the francophone community to reflect the bilingual nature of the region and Northeastern Ontario.

Dr. Law concluded, "People living in the region of Sudbury have every reason to be proud of the dedicated men and women who have worked so hard on their behalf to create the foundation of an outstanding health services system that will provide high quality and accessible services that we can afford. The Commission is confident that the leadership and innovation evident in the community will lead to an effective and community-oriented implementation of restructuring in Sudbury."

The Health Services Restructuring Commission is an independent and expert agency established by the Ontario Government with a four-year mandate to review health services across the province. It has been charged with restructuring hospital systems and advising the Minister of Health on reinvesting in and restructuring other health services to improve quality and patient outcomes.

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