Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Sylvia Haener is no longer CEO of Stanton Territorial Health Authority.

Haener, who held the job for a year and a half, left last Friday.

Sylvia Haener

"She was called into a meeting last Friday morning," said Sonja Boucher, vice-president for the Northern Territories Federation of Labour NWT. "She advised people that she was allowed to spend the day and she would be finished at five o'clock on Friday."

Al Woods, public administrator for the Stanton Health Authority, said Haener was not dismissed.

"Nobody has been fired," said Woods. "Sylvia Haener ... accepted a position in the GNWT. I'm not quite sure what the position is. I'm working with the senior management team until we figure out what are the next steps."

The lack of staff at the hospital could be the reason for the move, Boucher said.

Issues with morale at the hospital have been a problem, according to a Stanton employee survey from 2007. The survey showed that 60.6 per cent of staff felt they were overworked, 32.8 per cent wanted recognition from their supervisor, 64.1 per cent said they wanted recognition from senior management and 51.1 per cent said they had received no verbal recognition for work done.

Staff morale issues were a problem at the hospital before Haener took on the position, according to Boucher, but she said employee grievances increased during Haener's tenure.

The hospital has been running in a deficit mode since 2003, the year the government took over control of the facility. The Stanton Territorial Health Authority estimates an $11 million deficit by the end of the fiscal year in its 2008/2009 budget.

The former director of operations with Stanton Territorial Health Authority, Donna Zaozirny, was fired in June. Woods referred to it as an internal human resources issue.

Haener couldn't be reached for comment prior to press deadline.