A12 - The Terrace Standard

MAGS GINGLES celebrates in Terrace as word comes that Vancouver-Whistler will hast the 2010 Winter Olympics. The B.C. bid beat out Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, Korea, AOD LINK PHOTO

NHA eyes $15m of new cuts

NORTHERN HEALTH Autherity officials have to cut $15.4 million this year io avoid running a deficit.

The cut requirement would have been as much as $25 million but the Northern Health Authority is using $5.8 million in new money from the fed- eral government to cushion itself. It is also using a $3.8 million surplus from last year to further buffer itself,

All told the authority

wants to spend $426,142 -

million this year, most of which will come from the provincial government.

The $15.4 million cut plan has already been in- corporated into its spend- ing plans to produce a bal- anced budget.

“We are required to be able to present a balanced budget to the [health] ministry,” said authority official Mark Karjaluoto last week. “We cannot run a deficit.”

“We have to continue io find savings in our inter: nal structure, which we in- tend to do,” he said.

Karjaluoto said the $25 million in ‘extra costs comes from wage in- creases for existing em- ployees, general inflation, higher energy costs and higher drug costs.

Part of the plan.to find savings is to determine the appetite amongst the pri- vate sector to take over all or portions of the author- ity’s laundry services,

Right now the authority does its own laundry and in Terrace that means laundry from Mills Mem- orial and Terraceview is trucked down to a brand new laundry that is part of the new Kitimat General Hospital.

But the authority may eventually decide to con- iract out the service if it can determine the move will save money, “Our whole emphasis is directed at our patient services, Every dollar we can save is put there,” said Karja- lucto.

Also an the list is hiring more people to cut down on overtime costs incurred now because of being short-staffed.

And the authority is going to make strenuous efforts to ease sick leave and associated costs which last year amounted to $27 million, said Karjaluoto.

“We're going to help staff return to work,” he said,

“There’s no question. ‘Our sick leave cost is high and we want to do better as an employer.”

The authority hopes to buffer rising energy costs by examining how it uses natural gas in each of its more than 48 buildings.

It's not an issue: just yet, but the authority is putting money into easing what will be the expected retirement within the de- cade of large numbers of the 1,665 registered nurses it has on payroll, Fully half are over the age of 45.

Karjaluoto said this will involve extensive recruit- ing efforts and encouraging nurse training.

, Wednesday, July 9, 2003

From front:

do something for you means you'll lose.”

Baxter, known in the north for his analysis showing a growing gap in prosperity between rural and urban B.C., said there’s a risk the Olympics will make Vancouver- Whistler even ticher and the hinterland poorer.

“[ don’t think it’s inevitable, but it's possible,” he said. “I think this could be used to smooth the divide.”

“We have to show the world how cool Brit- ish Columbia is — not how cool Vancouver is.”

The provincial government and Games or- ganizers can help, he said.

“[ now want to see it become the British Columbia Winter Olympics,” Baxter said, “I want to see British Columbia on everything.”

The 2010 Olympic web site should link to every community and destination in B.C..

And he said every town’ and event in the

province should also get the ability to use the Olympics and its logos as marketing tools. Comparisons with the Expo ‘86 world fair Vancouver hosted are a poor fit, he says. Baxter says Expo was a participant event that visitors came and experienced. People

“Wt can’t be just the bear — it has to be the story.”

who didn’t come tended not to hear about it or B.C.

The Olympics, on the other hand, are an observer event. Baxter says few people will actually visit B.C. for the games, but potenti- ally billions will see or hear about the pro- vince from afar.

“For the next seven years, people should be

Olympic gold there for province | and regions to grab, analyst say |

using the attention focused on the Olympics to change the brand of the province,” he said.

“What [*m interesied in is what kind of benefit can we get next year.”

The Kermode bear as a mascot or symbol is a great idea, Baxter said, but needs careful development. “It can’t be just the bear — it has to be the story, where it comes from and that you con come up and possibly see it,” he said. “People travel for stories, not objects.”

He also advised-local organizers to have a. backup plan — in case the white bear is beat out by an orca or other animal. .

“That shouldn't stop them from trying to’ make the white bear the mascot of the cross- country ski event or something like that,” he said. “We need a lot of mascots.”

“Some guy in Germany could say, “Screw the Olympics, I want to go see the bear.””

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