The roles for the members of the Sydenham District Hospital board have been solidified.
The elected and appointed Directors met on Thursday, June 30 to elect officers for the next year.
Presiding Chair Fraser Burgess, chair of the Sydenham District Hospital Foundation, supervised elections for the position of chair and vice chair for SDH. Re-elected were Sheldon Parsons as chair and Conrad Noel as vice chair.
Other committee appointments
In other business, appointments to various committees were made.
Directors Herb John, Rex Isaac and Kris Lee were appointed to the CKHA mission and quality committee.
Noel was appointed to the CKHA finance and audit committee. George Lung was appointed to the CKHA medical advisory committee. Lung also continues as chair of the SDH by-Law committee and is joined by John and Lee.
Noel continues as the Chair of the SDH Membership Committee and is joined by Isaac.
Both SDH committees are able to nominate other non-directors to their committees for 2016- 2017.
Term commitments
Earlier this year, members approved a system of 1, 2 and 3-year staggered terms so that directors up for re-election in any future year will not exceed two.
The SDH directors selected their own term appointment as directors on the Board:
– Herb John selected 1 year
– Kris Lee selected 2 years
– George Lung selected 2 years
– Conrad Noel selected 3 years
– Sheldon Parsons selected 3 years
– Rex Isaac selected 1 year
Recruiting lead physician
Also in other business at their June 30 meeting, the SDH board approved a recruitment of an (interim) lead physician to serve the needs of the Sydenham Campus.
Recruitment for this position will begin immediately.
AGM recap
Between 250 and 300 persons attended the Sydenham District Hospital Corporation AGM on June 23rd, 2016. Held at the UAW Hall in Wallaceburg, members and public guests heard reports and voted on motions that approved the varied business of the corporation.
Walpole Island position approved
Members voted to endorse a recommendation for a by-law amendment to provide for a director position to be appointed by Walpole Island Band Council.
“Keeping communication lines open with the Walpole Island Band Council and the Bkejwanong community is important and we are pleased that the membership agreed,” stated Parsons, in a press release.
At the meeting, members learned that Rex Isaac had been appointed by the Walpole Island Band Council.
A vision for healthcare
The Sydenham District Hospital Corporation Members gave their unanimous approval to a Vision and District proposal presented by the Board.
Shore Consulting was contracted to undertake a review of the proposal and a consultation with prospective partners.
Shore’s report was presented to the annual meeting on June 23rd.
The board will now begin the process of advocating for approval of partners and health authorities and discussing various options for funding of the project.
“CKHA had earlier prepared a report for a similar project and it is the board’s intention to use as much of that study and report as is possible,” said Parsons.
“The message from our membership and from our communities is loud and clear. The project must include a fully functioning 24/7 emergency department and have the capacity to accommodate future expansions as we repair the damage done by years of cuts and restore the services that a small and rural hospital should be providing to its patients and its communities.”
