New health boss confident of budget, service targets THE NEW chief executive officer of the Northern Health Authority is confi- dent it'll record a surplus by the end of its fiscal year next March. Although it was running a small deficit of $1.3 mil- lion instead of a planned surplus as of this summer, Malcolm Maxwell says cost saving moves. should begin to pay off. The authorily has a budget of approximately $400 million a year and 6,000 employees although the latter figure is dropping - as it moves to cut costs. Speaking last week, Maxwell said he agrees with the authority's deci- sion to gradually reduce costs instead of more dras- tic measures such as clos- ing hospitals and contract- ing out of services that are being undertaken by other health authorities. “The approach so far is. appropriate because of the redesipn plan. It’s little Steps rather than ones that are more draconian,” said. The geography of the north and distances be- tween towns and health care facilities works against facility closures which work in larger centres down south where services are much closer together, Maxwell added. “Contracting out is eas- ier in larger centres as there are more service pro- viders,” he said. He’s upbeat about in- creasing the use of hi-tech communications techno- lagy to connect smaller centres with larger ones as « way of improving medi- cal services. The key, Maxweil con- tinued, is doing everything possible to reduce non-pa- Top earner AT $2000 0a year, ASW. Northern! AW utHiority* chief executive officer Malcalm Maxwell be- comes one of the highest paid public sector officials in the north. He also has a chance to earn a bonus of up to 10 per cent of his salary based on the authority meeting performance cri- teria as determined by its board, according to a copy of Maxweill’s employment contract. Details of the bonus cri- teria are to be worked out during Maxwell's six- month probationary period. He’s also eligible for up to $23,500 in relocation costs for moving from Al- berta, where he was last employed, to Prince George where the authority has its headquarters. The salary falls within puidelines set by the Health Employers Asso- ciation of B.C. and is de- termined by the size of the Northern Health Author- ity’s budget which is in the $400 million a year range. There is no provision for overtime or other premium pay in Maxwell’s contract but the authority board may provide more money or time off if “the require- ments of the position de- mand a sustained period of conlinucus exceptional work beyond normal work days and hours,” indicates the contract. Maxwell is also entitled to a full range of benefits and he can accumulate one and a half paid sick leave days a day to a maximum of 156 such days. He receives six weeks vacation a year. Maxwell replaces Peter Warwick who became the authority's CEO last De- cember when it’ was for- med from a number of smaller northern health « au- thorities. Warwick, who was the CEO of the community health council in Prince Rupert, had wanted to re- tire but stayed on until a replacement could be | found. - He made the same amount of money as Max- well is now earning. he . tient service costs so that those savings can be put into patient care. “We want to ensure that as we go along with our redesign plan that each step we’ te checking to see if we're changing some- thing and getting money that we're keeping our front end [services] strong by. taking those savings and doing things different- ly,” he said. The real challenge awaiting the authority comes next year when it’s expected to absorb a var- iety of wage increases without receiving an in- crease from the provincial government. The grant the provides provides the authority each year makes up the greatest portion of its budget. That’s why the authority is banking on a surplus to help it cope with the wage increases. “My staff aren’t telling me it can’t be done,” said Maxwell of the financial chalienge although he concedes it will be diffi- cult. Maxwell’s expectation is that within a few years, the Northern Health Au- thority will be regarded as a model for providing health care and associated services to rural and re- mote communities. “Maxwell comes to the authority after three years of being the chief exec- ulive officer of the Cross- roads Regional Health Au- thority in Wetaskiwin, Al- berta, south and east of Edmonton. Its budget is $55 million a year which is a lot smal- ler than the Northern Health Authority’s. “But when | was the as- sistant deputy minister in Malcolm Maxwell Nova Scotia, we had a budget of $1.2 billion,” he points out. Maxwell received his start in health care in the Maritimes and his educa- tion there. 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