New look regional society replaces Skeena health unit IF YOU received a strange response by calling the Skeena Health Unit last week, it wasn’t a delayed April Fool’s joke. As of Apri! 1, the health unit has been dissolved in favour of the Northwest Community Health Services Society, the new boss for all provincial government em- ployees who once worked for the health unit. It has many of the same functions the old health unit did, explains Dave Dennis, the society’s acting senior manager. The society is the result of years of planning, delays and changes in the way the provincial government wants health care managed in B.C, It itself replaces a north- west regional health board which never really got off the ground. The idea is that the society will be better able to respond to sorthwestem health needs and to make area decisions on health care. It’s part of the sweeping changes which resulted in the formation of community health councils who now ron hospitals and other residential health care facilities. Dennis and other officials spent last week trying to fig- ure out the society’s budget and staffing levels. That’s because it is taking vices will have to meet provincial levels. “There will be some type of parameters set to move money but we don’t know what the percentages are yet. We will have that ability but there will be guidelines in place for core services,’” he said, Also unknown is the exact number of employees the The regional health services society Is governed by a board made up of repre- sentatives for the region’s community health councils, over what were separate spending allotments for specific services once de- cided in Victoria and then parcelled out to the health unit and other services up here. Dennis welcomes the ability the society will have to make its own spending decisions but says core ser- new society will have. This is due in part to the lifting of a hiring freeze that ‘existed under the old health unit system. Dennis estimated the old health unit had the equiva- Fent of 80 full time positions in offices throughout the northwest. There’s been also no deci- sion yet an how the new structure will affect senior managers Who once worked for the healib unit or for other provincial health ser- vices up here. The sociely is governed by a board made up of repre- sentatives for the region's community health councils.- Five have been appointed so far, including Bob Kelly, a Terrace resident who was one of the first people in- volved in community health councils in the city. kk kkk And for those who may think the new society will result in added costs of new letterhead and the like, Dennis said stationery or- ders for the old health unit were cut back to avoid waste. “We're trying to make use of existing. materials as much as possible,”’ said Dennis, ‘‘We haven’t or- dered (health unit) letter- head for some time.’’ “There are some forms we can still use and that’s what we'll be doing.”’ Notices handed to health officials BARELY A year after settling into what were promising new jobs in regional health care, three people have been given their walking papers. The three formed the headquarters unit of the now-dead Northwestern Regional Health Board. Tt was put on the sick list last year when the province an- nounced it would review regional health plans and official- ly laid to rest this year. The regional health board was formed in 1994 to take over the functions of the Skeena Health Unit. But that's now the job of the Norhwest Community Health Services Society when the provincial government decided a regional health board wouldn’t work in the northwest. Severance notices were issued in mid-January to Wayne Hay, the regional health board’s chief executive officer, its chief financial officer and a clerical person. Hay officially began working for the regional board just last April, moving up from a hospital administrator’s job in Bella Coola. Although the great majority of the tegional health board’s workers would have been based in Terrace, Hay was permitted to live in Smithers under agreement with the now-defunct regional health board. A health ministry official responsible for winding up the affairs of the mow-cancelled regional health boards said Hay was issued severance notice of nine months, the chief financial officer notice of six months and the clerical per- son four months. But instead of simply paying out a monctary severance package, their contracts stipulate they can be assigned other health-related work and that’s what’s happening, said Manjit Sidhu. *‘So we are getting value for our dollar,’? Sidhu added. In Hay’s case, he’s been given the responsibility for set- ting up and running the $1 million pilot teleradiology pro- ' ject allowing northwestern hospitals and health clinics to send and receive x-ray and other images via phone lines. That project was long promised by the provincial government but officially came on line late last year. Hay said he and the others are seeking health care-related employment and that they have been offered no guarantees of preference in job postings by the provincial government. é TERRACE AP LITTLE THEATRE THE DINNER THEATRE production of: THE BABY SITTER Directed by Gordon Oates APRIL 17: 18+ 19° 20 24°25:26°27 At the: TERRACE CURLING CLUB Doors open: 6:30pm Dinner: 7:00pm D dated’ a Showtime: 8:00pm GALVIN | ite rae. alt 2.00 00 “Frogerat NORTHERN ae ae CRAVE Lai STOPPERS 635-TIPS ALL YOU NEED ATOZ A - Abrasives B - Batteries C - Chainsaws D - Drill Bits E - Extension Cords F - First Aid Kits G - Gloves H - Handcleaner I - Ignition Parts J - Jeans K - Knives L - Lawnmowers Dap + M- Measuring Tapes N - Nails O - Oil Filters P - Paper Products Q-QLinks R - Respirators Snowshoes Shoe Goo Shovels Suspenders Starters Switches Sawmills Screws Silicone Snow Blowers Screwdrivers Seat Covers sockets Socks Shackles Slings Swivels 4427 HWY +716, TERRACE TEL. 635-7383 * FAX 635-4076 The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, Apri} 9, 1997 - A114 WES E Terrace 635-6617 |, Kitimat 632-4444 4904 Hwy, 16 West Smithers 847-9172 Terrace, B.C. 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