SEIU-West In the News

Public Meeting – What an eye opener for the residents of Pleasant View in Moose Jaw!

Posted on January 26, 2012 by christinemiller

The Five Hills Health Region (FHHR) sponsored a public meeting on Jan. 24, 2012 in order to discuss their plan to relocate the detox facility to the site of the former Ina Grafton Gage home in Moose Jaw and realign the services being  provided by Thunder Creek Rehabilitation Association (TCRA).

One FHHR Representative, a consultant and the Executive Director of TCRA were on hand to provide (what has been reported as) vague answers to direct and pointed questions from the residents of Pleasant View, the workers, board members, and former clients of Angus Campbell, as well as members/leaders of SEIU-West.

The two main concerns clearly outlined by the residents of Pleasant View were : (more…)

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Letter to the Editor: Live up to words

Posted on November 21, 2011 by christinemiller

By Dena McKinlay, The StarPhoenix November 19, 2011

Re: Wall muses on labour (SP, Nov. 9). I am a union member and agree that transparency and accountability should be evident in all membership-based organizations, including those in government.

When my union recently was negotiating a collective agreement for health providers, I was frustrated with the expensive media campaign launched by the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations.

There were television, radio and newspaper ads, and glossy posters throughout my workplace.

SAHO even sent a letter to every health provider.

I think this information was intended to cripple our union’s already limited bargaining power. It made me angry. I felt it devalued and diminished the overall sense of worth for health providers, who have a critical role in the health-care team.

I asked how much SAHO was spending on this campaign, and our union indicated that the government had not provided the information in response to a Freedom of Information request. Rather, the government said SAHO is a membership-based, not-for-profit association. It acknowledged that SAHO receives some direct government funding, but other funding sources include membership fees.

So the union sent similar requests to members of SAHO – regional health authorities – which indicated they were unable to locate any records related to the information request.

Where is the transparency and accountability when health-care providers cannot find out just how much money SAHO is using to launch a campaign against them.

I want Premier Wall to address this lack of transparency and accountability. I’m certain many health providers who would agree with me.

Dena McKinlay Saskatoon

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Live+words/5736324/story.html#ixzz1eLxomKM3

Read it as a PDF: Live up to words

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Letter to the Editor: Residents Should Come First

Posted on July 26, 2011 by christinemiller

This Letter to the Editor was printed in the Shaunavon Standard on July 19, 2011 under the title “Residents should come first and in the Prairie Post on July 29, 2011 under the title “SEIU takes exception to comments”.

Originally submitted under the title: ‘Nothing Out of the Ordinary’

Dear Editor,

Gloria Illebrun, Executive Director of Health Services, makes comment in the June 30 edition of the Prairie Post that the movement of nursing staff between November 7, 2010, and May 31, 2011 in five of the long term care facilities in the Cypress Health Region “wasn’t anything out of the ordinary”. In my view, this certainly does not convey any real concern about current and ongoing staffing deficiencies in these areas. (more…)

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Letter to the Editor: Union says its not responsible for Ina Grafton closure

Posted on July 22, 2011 by christinemiller

Published in the Moose Jaw Times Herald Thursday, July 21, 2011

Dear Editor:

With the impending closure of Ina Grafton Gage Home and McNiven Manor, 41 long-term care beds in Moose Jaw are set to disappear. As front-line health care workers, SEIU-West members are deeply concerned about what the loss of these long-term care spaces means for those seniors who call this their home. (more…)

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Letter to the Editor: SEIU-West Concerned by health region’s approach to filling nursing needs at Shaunavon Hospital

Posted on July 11, 2011 by christinemiller

The following Letter to the Editor appeared in the Shaunavon Standard on July 5, 2011 as well as the Prairie Post on July 8, 2011.

I read the Prairie Post online article “Nursing Shortage causing lots of issues for Shaunavon” (also in this week’s edition of The Shaunavon Standard) with a great deal of shock and concern. I’m not sure if the residents of Shaunavon and area realize that there are healthcare providers right in their community who have offered their skills and services as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to the Cypress Health Region – only to be told to ‘wait until August’. (more…)

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Letter to the Editor: Different Expectations

Posted on March 19, 2011 by christinemiller

Star Phoenix

By Shawna Colpitts, The StarPhoenix March 19, 2011

(Originally submitted under the title: “Who Gets the Jump and Who Ends Up with the SAHO competitive wages?”)

It was recently reported in the Star-Phoenix that Maura Davies, CEO for Saskatoon Health Region, will receive a pay increase in 2011-2012 that will put her over $400,000 annually because she is ‘exceeding the expectations’ of Saskatoon RHA Board Chair Jim Rhode.  This article clearly sets out that Ms. Davies annual salary since her start year in 2005 has more than doubled.  Who gets twice the salary in six short years?  I would guess that Saskatchewan Association of Health Organization (SAHO) executive salaries have experienced similar jumps.  Is this because they too have exceeded the expectations set out for them?  

 

Yet when you compare the experience of many of the health care providers that provide direct hands-on care, they are offered no jumps.  Instead they receive ‘competitive wages’ as determined by SAHO or the government.  What SAHO does not tell you is how they manipulate the market data (pick and choose the data that suits their needs), or how they unnecessarily delay the process and how they frustrate and demean the care providers in the public forum.  I can tell you first hand this is not negotiation; rather, it feels much like extortion. 

Why is Saskatchewan losing quality health care providers including doctors, internes, residents, practitioners and a full range of providers?  Why are we experiencing temporary closures, reduced hours, the elimination of emergency services, other service cuts and/or no laboratory services in many locations across the province?  Is this deliberate and in keeping with some mandate that we know nothing about?

My question is whether Maura Davies (and others who have received this huge salary jump) has met the expectations of the residents who live in Wakaw and surrounding area?  Or is it that the Sask Party, and/or SAHO, have vastly different expectations of these executives than the taxpayers who expect timely access to comprehensive health care services in their home communities?

Shawna Colpitts

Director, SEIU-West

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Letter to the Editor Re: Wakaw Hospital

Posted on March 7, 2011 by christinemiller

Published Mar. 7 in the Star Phoenix under the title “Wakaw needs help”

Original version below:

As a representative of SEIU-West members who are currently fighting to maintain hospital services in the Wakaw Hospital, I have many questions for the Minister of Health and I would ask him to make the necessary inquiries with the Saskatoon Health Region so as to determine the answers. Given that the Minister of Health fails to respond to our communication direct to his office, I am putting forward my inquiries in the public forum.

Wakaw Hospital currently has locum coverage to the end of March 2011. My first question is what occurs after this date?

The Minister of Health indicates in public statements that his government is tackling the growing physician shortage issue in the newly created Provincial Physician Recruitment agency; this is an agency that we know has great new office furniture. However, we have no information as to the success of this agency, or whether they are even working on locating physicians for Wakaw Hospital. Please let us and the residents of the community and surrounding area know what kind of work is being done by this agency.

As you are aware, we need to secure physicians permanently and preferably prior to April 1, 2011. We also need a sufficient amount of doctors to ensure 24-hour emergency services. I would ask that you share the strategy of the Provincial Physician Recruitment Agency, as it may need to be re-evaluated in order to achieve success at the Wakaw Hospital.

SEIU-West members and leaders have been working in partnership with a strong community activist effort to keep Wakaw hospital open. Yet we note our obvious challenges. I would ask you to inquire about the administration at the Wakaw Hospital. Why is it that Rosthern Hospital is able to maintain 6 Physicians and, to our understanding, they are currently seeking 2 additional Physicians? Yet, the Wakaw Hospital cannot keep any Physicians. Do you have a master plan to close this facility? Do you share our common goal of maintaining quality health care services for residents of this community and surrounding area? If so, then perhaps you should investigate the administration issues at Wakaw Hospital. It really is quite simple to ask the many Physicians why they chose to leave this facility.

SEIU-West will continue to support the solid community work being done by the residents of Wakaw and surrounding area. We will not be diverted. We will continue to pose best possible solutions to maintain Wakaw Hospital as an open facility. However, we could use some help out here. Maybe you could give us a hand.

What do you say?

Randy Hoffman, SEIU-West Union Representative

Click here to see the version that appeard in the Star Phoenix.

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Open Letter to Wakaw and Surrounding Area Residents Re: Wakaw Hospital

Posted on February 17, 2011 by christinemiller

As a representative of SEIU-West members who currently provide health care services to you, your family and neighbours within your community, I must clarify our role in maintaining hospital services for the period from February 21 to March 6, 2011.

SEIU-West members, in an attempt to respond to the operational needs of the employer, due specifically to the shortage of physicians; generously, applied for vacation and/or leaves to accommodate the diminishing client volumes. Unfortunately, as of late, this generosity has not been reciprocated by the employer.

As I am certain that you are aware, SEIU-West members and leaders, alike, have been working very diligently on potential alternatives to keep Wakaw hospital open. We have joined the strong community effort and we have walked shoulder to shoulder with the young and the mature residents of the community to get our shared message across, as we all do share common the goal of maintaining quality health care services for residents of the community.

Please note that a number of our members recently requested to return to work with a view to expanding the hours of operation after a physician was secured for the February 21 to March 6 time period. Based on our provisions that vacation schedules can be mutually modified, we do need the employer to agree to such requests. They have withheld such agreement. Rather, they confirmed that hours of operation are fixed from February 21 to March 6 and that such hours cannot be extended because it is too late. Too late for whom, one might ask. SEIU-West is, of course, disappointed that there does not appear to be any willingness for the employer to work with us on this particular issue. It was our desire to collaborate on the full restoration of hospital services for this period.

We will not be diverted, however, and we will continue to work hard with members of the community, leaders and the employer to come up best possible solutions to maintain Wakaw Hospital as an open facility.

Barb Hretsina

SEIU-West Union Representative

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OP-Ed: Properly fund Public Health Care

Posted on February 3, 2011 by christinemiller

By Barbara Cape, The StarPhoenix

This appeared in the Star Phoenix on February 3, 2011.

Having access to comprehensive health-care service is important to every resident of Saskatchewan.

Unfortunately, our current government is seemingly placing more emphasis on privately delivered and privately funded health care and is, in effect, working toward the removal of the public option for the people of Saskatchewan.

The evidence is everywhere.

Rural communities are being forced to raise money out of their own pockets to entice general practitioners and maintain their hospitals. To attract doctors, communities with more assets are outbidding those that can’t afford the extra.

Why should residents of rural Saskatchewan be required to pay twice for health care -once through their taxes and again through fundraising or a health-care levy by their municipality?

If the public system were properly funded, this wouldn’t be an issue.

While the community and rural municipalities are busy looking for a doctor and raising money to get a doctor, the government is wasting taxpayers’ dollars to the tune of $200,000 worth of office furniture for the Provincial Physician Recruitment agency.

This even though it has perfectly good furniture up for sale on a government website. Wouldn’t that money be better invested in the salary for one doctor in a community that desperately needs a physician to maintain its hospital?

Health Minister Don McMorris fails to recognize the concerns of the citizens in those communities and organizations that are working diligently to retain their public health care.

Residents of Wakaw and surrounding areas invited McMorris to their community meeting on Jan. 25, but he did not even show up to hear their concerns.

On behalf of SEIU-West members employed at Wakaw Hospital, I wrote in December to the minister about this very important subject and requested his urgent attention. I have yet to receive a reply.

The government is busy selling the concept of private surgical teams rather than improving surgery wait times by building public capacity.

The government is ignoring the people of Saskatchewan and is creating a two-tier health system -one for rural communities and quite another for urban communities.

The message the government is sending out is this: If you live in a rural community, be prepared to pay extra to have your public health care delivered. If you refuse to pay, you will get Band-Aids instead of doctors. Yet if you live in an urban area, you don’t have to worry and you don’t have to pay more to get access to your doctors.

However, the government pays more for every test and surgical procedure provided by a private, forprofit facility.

I am by no means advocating for urbanites to pay more taxes. On the contrary, I’m calling on the government to protect the birthplace of medicare by investing in our publicly funded, publicly delivered and publicly administered health-care system and do better by the people it was elected to serve.

The people of Saskatchewan are the real strategic resource -not just potash!

Rural hospitals need beds, not Band-Aids. Let’s try to fund them adequately so that they have the resources to remain open.

Read the published version.

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