Filling the shoes of those directors with a modest number of staff to assist will be a challenge said George McLellan, who has been appointed to lead the province's nine district health authorities until a permanent board is established next spring.
It’s a challenge, he said in an interview with The News, that he takes seriously. Already he’s been in discussions with people from the Health Authority here and said he plans to continue trying to get to know the issues and concerns affecting health care here.
Health and Wellness Minister Leo Glavine met with district health authority board chairs June 6 to express his appreciation for their service and share McLellan’s appointment leading up to the consolidation of the health system on April 1, 2015. Pat Lee, former CEO of the Pictou County Health Authority, is overseeing that process.
"I want to thank all of the board members who have served the health system and their communities. We owe a debt of gratitude to these volunteers," said Glavine.
McLellan, a senior administrator with significant board and volunteer experience, will become the administrator July 1. The province says there will be no impact on delivery of health services and programs. The IWK Health Centre will remain a separate entity, so its board of directors will not be affected.
The chief executive officers of the health authorities will begin reporting to McLellan on July 1.
McLellan’s responsibilities will include approving credentialing and privileging physicians, monitoring quality and patient-safety risks, business planning and financial monitoring. McLellan will not design the future structure.
Glavine said July is an appropriate time to transfer authority to an administrator as the boards do not meet during the summer.
McLellan said it also works well because a lot of the work that the authorities’ boards of directors do is completed at the early part of the year particularly surrounding budgeting.
The authorities will remain as legal entities until the board of directors for the new health authority is recruited and oriented early next year to begin April 1.
McLellan admits he’s already heard concerns from people who worry about services being lost in places outside Halifax but, he assures, it’s not his intention to see anything like that happen.
“Nobody wants to hear that big sucking sound from Halifax,” he said. “I clearly understand that.”
He said he hopes that the level of care people are accustomed to will remain the same while he fills this interim role and any changes made will be clearly thought through.
Local MLA Tim Houston said it’s important now that residents of Pictou County are vocal about their support for the Aberdeen Hospital and the services provided there. He said contrary to some of the negative publicity that the health authority may receive here they have a 96.5 per cent satisfaction rate.
Another important statistic he said is that 90 per cent of the people who arrive at the Aberdeen Hospital are treated there in comparison to about 80 per cent at the Antigonish and Truro hospitals.
“A hospital is a very important part of the community and we have one and we actually have a pretty good one,” Houston said.
Murray Hill, who currently serves as chair of the PCHA board of directors also stressed the importance of the health care provided in Pictou County.
“Health care is an important integral component of our community,” he said. “We are committed to working with the new governance structure given; the delivery of top quality health care is simply too important not to succeed.”
On Twitter: NGNewsAdam
George McLellan background
George McLellan is originally from Sydney and has held numerous roles in government, provincial and municipal, and recently retired from his role as president and CEO of Medavie/EMS.
He has served on a number of boards, and has been active in fundraising, including the initial capital campaign for the QEII Hospital. He is a member of the board of governors of Dalhousie University, as well as the boards of Accreditation Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Health Care Improvement.
