Inuvik (Oct 03/03) - The Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Authority held their regular meeting and annual general meeting Sept. 20-21. For the first time, the group met in the new hospital board room.

Chair Nellie Cournoyea says the process is behind schedule, but they are doing their best to ensure there are "two healthy authorities."

A perk first offered to Northern nurses has been expanded to include other health professionals, but has left the rest of hospital employees feeling slighted.

The Professional Development Initiative was first offered to nurses as a recruitment and retention incentive, but later offered to other health care workers as a way to bolster their educational and professional ability.

Management says the initiative is a good one, but it's creating dissension among staff, because not all employees and staff are eligible.

The fund allows up to $3,000 per year to workers to upgrade skills, but is not available to 40 per cent of staff.

"It's great that they've brought these programs online, but now we have to focus on the remainder because we should have educational opportunities for all our staff," said Gerry Uswak, CEO of the Inuvik Regional Health and Social Services Authority.

Dr. Braam deKlerk told the board the dissension spreads because there is a division between workers who, although they may work side by side, are not both eligible fro the training allowance.

"Anywhere there are clinical and non-clinical people working together, they are saying, 'Why does she get it, and I don't get it,'" deKlerk said. "We don't have an answer for them."

The Sahtu is currently covered by health care through the IRHSSA, but are developing their own authority.

The scheduled completion of the split has been moved ahead to April 1.

"We have to ensure that the new authority is going to be properly staffed and structured in such a way that it's ready to go and try to ensure that we are healthy as we can be," Uswak said. "We have the assurance of the Department of Health that neither organization is going to be hampered, but there are a lot of problematic issues."

The split will reduce the vast area and number of communities covered under the IRHSSA, so Uswak feels that as long as the split doesn't financially hamper the IRHSSA, it may lighten the load for the Inuvik authority.

Chair Nellie Cournoyea said the process is behind schedule, but they are doing their best to ensure there are "two healthy authorities."

"We're way behind schedule, but we want to make it right so it works for both of us," Cournoyea said. "In the end people are going to want to know if they are going to be served better than they are now."

The reality is, there are a finite amount of dollars and health care professionals for the territory.

"The community is not going to get more nurses because there are two health boards or four or five," she said.

Following the split, two new boards will be required and Cournoyea said she will step aside for a new chair.

"When we do that, there obviously should be a new chair," she said. "I've been there for a few years, and I'm not abandoning anyone, but we should be able to get some good representation."

The Department of Health and Social Services recommends an upgrade to all computer systems every three years, but Uswak says there is no room in the budget to modernize.

"Our problem is getting everybody up to speed on the technology end, let alone replacing the entire organization's computers every three years," Uswak said, adding that the problem is getting worse as time goes by.

"The longer we have to stay with out-dated systems and operating systems, we are getting further and further away from where we should be," he said.