Health meeting cancellation frustrates city councillors

CITY COUNCILLORS are

frustrated Terrace and Area Health Council chair Bob Kelly cancelled a scheduled meeting March 14 because city officials refused to hold the meci- ing in private, away from the public eye.

City Councillor Val George said the city coun- cil requested ‘a meeting with the health council two weeks ago to discuss

the problems~ associated ~

with nurses shortages and admission restrictions at Mills Memorial Hospital, “We-only ever meet with the health council when we perceive there is a serious issue in the com- munity,” George said. Although city council

Health budget could balance

THE TERRACE Area Health Council will at the very ieast balance its books this year, says ils chief executive officer.

Such an occurrence will stop what has been years of annual deficits facing the council’s main facility, Mills Memorial Hospital.

Just a year ago the hos- pital’s financial situation was considered so serious that predictions were made it would be all but bank- Tupt if there wasn't a turn around by now.

Tom Novak, the man hired at the encourage- ment of the health ministry to help set right the hospi- lal’s finances, said some departments, have respon- ded favourably in terms of cost control.

“There have been s0me.

overages: have: been: swiecessful,” said.

. Even a small deficit in the order of $100,000 should not be catastrophic given ihe $20 million bud- get at Mills, Novak conli- nued,

“It’s nothing. It really means a balanced budget,” he said.

The health council last Spring received a boost of nearly $900,000 to help its budgetary problem.

Novak said he and others are working on a balanced budget for the new fiscal year beginning April 1.

But how that'll turn out in the end will take awhile longer to determine be- cause the provincial gov- ernment must first estab- lish its own budget for its own ministries.

Only when that happens will Mills find out how much it'll have for the coming year,

Skeena NDP MLA Hel- mut Giesbrecht said in- creases for Mills will be difficult.

“There’s pressure to balance the (provincial) budget,” he said.

What Giesbrecht is anticipating is approval for renovations to the nursing station on the hospital’s main medical ward floor.

The renovations are needed to make the work-

load more efficient.but the.

money's always been de-

nied until financial stabili- .

ty was restored,

“It was almost like an TOU and now I want to hold -(the ministry} to that,” said Giesbrecht.

. The MLA last year was part of the lobbying effort which resulted in Mills re- ceiving substantially more dollars than elsewhere.

. Bar more: 3 lnformacian”

: 1-800-668-1507.

has no authority to deal with health matters, George said councillors are concerned with the state of health care in Ter- race,

“If there is anything we can do. to help matters, we should be meeting,” he said.

George said Kelly can- celled the meeting the day before it was set to begin because the councillors re-

fused to hold the’ meeting ©

in camera.

City councillors de- clined to’ meet in private, since provincial legislation

states that the cily can.

only hold private meetings when discussing sensitive issues regarding property, legal or personnel.

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“We saw no reason to hold the meetings in private,” George said.

“The public ought to be able to be there and ob- serve it.”

City councillor David Hull said if the meeting with the health council isn’t in public then they ‘simply won't meet,

“To be honest, the health council shouldn’t ~ tell-us -anything: different than they'd tell anyone off the street,” Hull said,

Kelly said he cancelled the meeting because he’s waiting until the hospital’s newly hired chief admin- istrator Dieter Kuntz ar- rives March 21.

“T'd rather wait to meet

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insisted on meeting with city council in private, Kelly said “no comment.” ©

He added that many health issues are extreme- ly sensitive, especially since they involve other community health authari- ties in the northwest,

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