WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE GOVERNANCE OF THE ROUGE VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM 

THE CORPORATIZATION OF ONTARIO'S HOSPITALS

In 1998, all Ontario hospitals were grouped into Corporations. Eventually, these Corporations began to make changes, usually for financial reasons, which angered many communities, who felt they had lost a voice in their hospital’s “Governance’. (Remember Dec. 2005 when APH’s birthing programs were threatened.)  

We believe Boards of Directors (with the help of  the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care) will keep looking for ways to solidify their Corporate control against the challenges of local communities, such as Alliston, Georgetown, Belleville, and most recently, Scarborough. 

HOW IS THE HOSPITAL GOVERNED?

The Rouge Valley Health System is a Corporation of Ajax/Pickering Hospital, Scarborough Centenary Hospital, and three other Scarborough sites that offer specific mental health programs. 

This Corporation is governed and managed by a Board of Directors - 15 elected and 5 appointed. Its monthly meetings are currently open to the public. 

RVHS GOVERNANCE REVIEW PLANNED

On Oct.5, we sent a letter to T. Atkins, Chair of the RVHS Board, expressing our concerns about some governance matters. ( See archives).  

Mr. Atkins  replied that “…the Board will undertake a review of its By-Laws and governance processes…and any proposed By-Law revisions…will be considered at the Annual General Meeting to be held in June 2007.” 

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

here are some governance processes that we believe might be reviewed. 

1. Replacing the Directors of the Rouge Valley Health System Board is done by a group of electors at the Annual General Meeting of the Board each June. Currently, those electors include all hospital volunteers, medical staff, and citizens who donate $25 to the hospital. However, elsewhere, electors have been restricted to only the current Directors or, at most, to a very small number of people.

2. Who is eligible for election as a Director?   Currently, a Committee of the Board interviews interested people and puts forward for “election” a slate of candidates that corresponds to the number of vacancies on the Board. Two years ago, the By-Laws were changed to eliminate anyone who is not Board approved from standing for election.

3. Qualifications needed to be selected. The criteria used to select the people put forward for "election” specifically forbid any representative of a community organization or municipality. A Director should be accountable only to the Corporation. 

4. Changing the By-Laws.  Currently, the same electors that vote for new directors can express acceptance or rejection of By-Law changes at the Annual General Meeting. The trend towards reducing the number of electors makes it much simpler for the Board to make By-Law changes that exclude public participation in RVHS.

5. The RVHS Board meetings currently are open to the public, but other Boards close their meetings. Beginning this year,  RVHS,  Board meetings have “in camera” (secret) times specified on each meeting’s agenda, rather than adding them, as needed, which was the practise in the past.

THE FRIENDS' STAND

Friends letter of January 7 questions Board's direction and suggests democratization. See letter.

We realise the RVHS Directors are volunteers who give much time to their roles. Many are sincerely dedicated to the hospitals they serve.  But a corporate mindset is encouraged for Directors. Furthermore, we think the temptation to ignore community input as “outside interference” is gaining strength. 

SO, WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE GOVERNANCE OF THE ROUGE VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM, BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT OUR COMMUNITIES MUST HAVE A STRONG VOICE IN THEIR HEALTH CARE! 

WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. 

PLEASE WRITE, PHONE, OR E-MAIL TO US WITH YOUR COMMENTS. See Contacts page