Health districts team up for better service

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Two northern Saskatchewan health districts have introduced an innovative approach to health care delivery after signing a partnership agreement to jointly manage shared programs and services.

The Keewatin Yathe and Mamawetan Churchill River health districts signed the agreement last May, but waited to announce it until Oct. 20 to coincide with the ninth annual northern health conference taking place in Prince Albert.

The agreement defines the two districts' joint responsibility and accountability for shared programs such as dental therapy and shared staff like the medical health officer.

The host district concept used in other parts of the province - where two or more districts share services with one administering them - was rejected because it didn't suit the North, said Louise Wiens, chairwoman of the Mamawetan Churchill River health district.

Both health districts want to work together to tackle common health issues while retaining their individuality and uniqueness, said Wiens, adding she hopes the neighboring Athabasca health authority will one day join the partnership.

"In the North there is a built-in desire to work together," said Norm Hatlevik, chief executive officer of the Mamawetan Churchill River health district. "That's not something you see in the southern health districts."

Health needs in the North are also far greater because of conditions such as diabetes and tuberculosis, added Hatlevik, but the resources available are far below the level required to meet the health needs of the people who live in the North.

"There was more of a need to partner when you have great challenges, great demands and few resources," said Hatlevik, explaining the motivations behind the partnership agreement.

Finding a way to stretch the limited dollars for the North was a major impetus behind the unique partnership arrangement, said Nap Gardiner, chief executive officer of the Keewatin Yathe health district.

"We were thrown into a moving train of health reform," Gardiner said at the press conference announcing the agreement.

For 50 years, the North had very little control over the delivery of health care services, he said, and the creation of the two health districts was an opportunity to make sure procedures and philosophies were based in how things were done locally.

However, no one saw the partnership agreement as a precursor to amalgamation. Max Morin, chairman of the Keewatin Yathe health board, said it is an example to southern health districts of the different ways health care can be managed in the province.

"Personally, I don't believe that (amalgamation) is a concern to us. (The partnership) is something that could send a different message to other health boards," Morin said.

"If the 32 health boards want to do their own things, it would be a sad day because we don't have enough resources."

Speaking a day later, Associate Health Minister Judy Junor said she expected the northern health districts to retain their boundaries if the provincial government goes ahead with a proposal to reduce the number of health districts in Saskatchewan.

However, she said the government is looking at returning central planning responsibility in some areas to Saskatchewan Health for the purpose of setting standards.

It wouldn't be realistic to amalgamate the Keewatin Yathe and Mamawetan Churchill River health districts so soon after they were set up approximately a year and a half ago, she said.

"The North is just getting started," said Junor.

The health districts would retain the power to identify and develop programs to meet the health needs of their communities, she said, while central planning would only be done by the province in some areas. She didn't specify which areas.

"But this is all just being looked at," said Junor. "Nothing has been determined."

No date has been set on when the province plans to make a decision on health district reform. However, Junor said the process won't be dragged out, leaving people to wonder aout their future.

She expected a decision within the next year.