June 30, 2011
Hospital settles
local contract
by Vance Gutzman
The Deep River and District Hospital (DRDH) has delivered the results
of its annual general meeting, and is also making progress on the
labour front.
The hospital's chief executive officer, Larry Schruder, said the health
care facility is "very pleased" to have secured a local five-year
agreement with its employees of the Ontario Public Service Employees
Union (OPSEU) Local 476, representing paramedical and professional
staff.
The contract is retroactive to April 1, 2009, and runs through to March
31, 2014. It was tentatively agreed to on June 16 and later ratified by
both parties.
The labour agreement brings to a close some strong words from Local 476
last fall, when its members cased all voluntary participation
activities at the hospital, including the 2010 Santa Claus parade.
The hospital is also in the process of finalizing a three-year
agreement with the local bargaining unit of the Ontario Nursing
Association, though negotiations with the local OPSEU clerical and
service employees have reached a standstill, after several rounds of
bargaining and conciliation, and they have subsequently been referred
for binding arbitration.
In addition to its efforts in ironing out contract negotiations, the
DRDH has also been busy on a number of other fronts over the course of
2010-11, according to Paul Fehrenbach, chairman of its board of
governors.
"There have been major advances on several strategic directions,
including quality and patient safety, the recruitment of another
physician to the community and the launch of a major fund-raising
program for capital equipment," Fehrenbach stated at last week's AGM.
"I'd like to thank the volunteers of the Hospital Auxiliary and the
Hospital Foundation, the doctors, nurses, hospitals and the board of
governors for their hard work and dedication during the past year."
Schruder, meanwhile, pointed out at the AGM that the hospital managed
to close out the year on the financial front with a small operating
surplus, despite the fact it was faced with escalating costs.
The CEO said the hospital also achieved "excellent clinical and patient
safety results" and increased funding from the community, which enabled
it to purchase more than $250,000 worth of new capital equipment.
Schruder said the hospital also achieved very high provincial ratings
in the areas of patient satisfaction scores, staff influenza
inoculation rates and hand hygiene compliance.
He also had high words of praise for both the Hospital Auxiliary and
the Hospital Foundation.
"The ongoing energy and enthusiasm of both organizations, which support
this hospital through significant donations of funds and time, ensures
that we are able to continue to provide and exceptional health care
experience to our increasing number of patients," Schruder said.
"There is no doubt that e would be much less effective at delivering
our services if we did not enjoy their continued support."
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