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Business as usual for health authority Transition to public administrator expected
to be seamless for Deh Cho
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, August 8, 2013
DEH CHO
Deh Cho residents shouldn't expect to see any changes as the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority transitions from having a board of management to a public administrator, according to Debbie DeLancey, the health department's deputy minister.
"In theory, it should be fairly seamless," said DeLancey.
Health and Social Services Minister Tom Beaulieu announced on July 29 he had appointed Jim Antoine of Fort Simpson as the public administrator for the authority.
The Hospital Insurance and Health and Social Services Administration Act sets out a number of circumstances under which the minister could consider appointing a public administrator and a number of those were met, DeLancey said.
The circumstances include a situation where a board is having trouble meeting quorum. In the case of the Deh Cho board, there had been a number of resignations and terms that expired with no response for calls for nominations, she said. As of Aug. 2, the 10-member board had two remaining members.
A public administrator can also be appointed if the minister has concerns about the delivery of operational programs and services.
"Some concerns were raised that (Beaulieu) felt needed to be taken into consideration," said DeLancey.
The length of time it takes for a medevac to arrive in Trout Lake following a fatal boating accident in May was a related concern. DeLancey said she wasn't prepared to discuss other examples because many relate to individual client cases.
Antoine will have the same responsibilities the board of management had including approving strategic priorities and budgets, providing direction to the chief executive officer, bringing forward community concerns and making sure they are responded to.
One of the reasons Antoine, a former premier and former chief of Liidlii Kue First Nation, was chosen was because he is well known in the region, she said.
"He's a long-term, established leader and someone that people can go to," said DeLancey.
He also brings a depth of knowledge about both the people of the Deh Cho and the workings of the territorial government, she said.
Having a public administrator appointed isn't uncommon in the territory. Of the eight health and social services authorities in the territory, four are currently under public administrators.
"We're recognizing our board structure is quite antiquated," DeLancey said.
The legislation for the boards was created in 1987 when responsibility for health was transferred from Canada to the NWT. At the time, technology such as electronic medical records and digital imaging hadn't been imagined, she said. The department is starting to look at changing the board structures to make them more responsive.
A question that had been raised about the Deh Cho board was whether it made sense for the communities of Fort Providence and the Hay River Reserve to continue to have their health and social services care centred in Fort Simpson, as opposed to the closer Hay River.
The length of time the Dehcho Health and Social Services Authority has a public administrator will be up to the minister.
The intent is to eventually go back to a board once things have stabilized, said DeLancey.
Antoine couldn't be reached by press deadline to comment on his new position.
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