The Northern Health Region’s (NHR) expenses are up more than $1 million for 2017 when compared to the same time frame in 2016, according to a report released at the Northern Health Summit in Thompson on Oct. 24.
The report, presented at the organization’s annual general meeting, details both the revenue and expenses of the region, and notes the NHR currently has a revenue deficiency of just under $3.4 million – a significant change from the $200,000 excess the organization saw last year.
Helga Bryant, chief executive officer for NRHA attributes the jump of expenses to price and volume.
“The cost of delivering the services increased – we have a contractual obligation that needs to be met and our volumes increased,” said Bryant.
“We are ever trying to increase the number of services we provide. We do that as much as we can with the resources we have.”
Bryant also noted operations costs such as hydro impact the organization’s expenses.
“The hydro bill for the RHA goes up just like our personal hydro bills go up. So it is purely a function of the cost of doing business and the volume of care that we provide.”
Acute care saw the largest expense increase at over $12.5 million. Community based home care, community based mental health, medical remuneration and unallocated expenses all saw a decrease in expenses.
Total revenue for the NRHA in 2017 was $244,142,104.
Bryant also discussed some of the highlights 2017 has brought for the region, including an upgrade to the sprinkler system in the Flin Flon personal care home, as well as the redevelopment of Flin Flon’s emergency room.
“We’ve encountered, as we do with any project in the north, some particular bedrock issues and some challenges that reveal themselves when you’re working in the Canadian Shield, but we’ve overcome those and the project continues to progress very, very well.”
Construction was stalled earlier this year due to the condition of bedrock at the building site which could not be built on in a few key areas of the site. The challenge was addressed by a structural redesign and the use of shotcrete concrete to create a stable structural point.
It is expected staff will move into the new emergency department by the end of March 2018.
