TRANSITION NEWS March 2006 Sunnybrook & Women s and Women s College Hospital Reach Historic Agreement Sunnybrook & Women s and Women s College Hospital have reached an agreement on the transfer of programs, services and staff that will take effect when Women s College Hospital becomes independently governed on April 1, 2006. In August 2005, the Honourable George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long Term Care, set out a three-point plan to create a leading edge academic ambulatory care hospital to provide leadership in ambulatory care for women and their families, reduce wait times for hip and knee replacements, create a state-of-the-art facility for high-risk pregnancies and critically-ill newborns and improve access for emergency care. The Honourable Elinor Caplan, lead facilitator for governance, finance and program issues during the transition, worked with both organizations to reach this milestone in the government s plan. I m very pleased with the outcome of the process, which ensures both Women s College Hospital and Sunnybrook & Women s emerge as strong organizations that will continue to play important roles in the Ontario healthcare system, said Caplan. Women s College Hospital is moving forward to become a state of the art academic ambulatory care hospital with a focus on women s health. These plans will include the significant capital redevelopment of the Grenville site to become a leading edge facility with the capacity to provide leadership in women s healthcare, education and research, and provide service Welcome to the third and last edition of Transition News. This newsletter is intended to provide an update on the transition process for all staff. We would like the communications process to be interactive and encourage you to ask questions and share your comments. If you have any questions please call 416.323.7738 (the line will be staffed during the day). We will do our best to get you an answer in a timely manner. to women and their families. The Women s College site will also be home to a new provincial Women s Health Institute, which has a mandate to promote women s health throughout Ontario. Patients and visitors to Women s College Hospital will not see a disruption in service and will be able to continue to access the programs and clinics they require for care. Gaining our independent governance is an exciting challenge, says Michele Landsberg, Chair of Women s College Hospital Board of Directors. We can honour our distinguished history of leadership in women s health and build on that for an exciting future involving partnerships with many different hospitals in a fresh approach to health care. We are also fully committed to ensuring this change is safe, comfortable, and seamless for our patients, volunteers and donors. continued on page five one
What it all means... Below is a summary of the major points of the program transfer document. For Clinical Services: Primary and Ambulatory Care clinics at Women's College Hospital (WCH) will remain with WCH. Joint Chiefs between S&W and WCH have been appointed for both Psychiatry and Family Practice: Dr. Anthony Levitt and Dr. Jim Ruderman respectively. New Chiefs that have been appointed at Women s College Hospital include: Dr. Gillian Hawker as the new Chief of Medicine; Dr. John Semple as the new Chief of Surgery and Dr. Jean Kronberg as the Chief of Anaesthesia. The hospital is also delighted that Dr. James Ruderman has accepted the position of Chief of Staff. Operating rooms at WCH will be staffed and managed by WCH. S&W will have a relationship with WCH to ensure the current surgical caseload is accommodated. Perinatal and Gynaecology remains under the governance and management of Sunnybrook & Women s. Joint Chiefs have been appointed: Dr. Jennifer Blake for gynaecology and Dr. Michael Dunn for newborn and developmental pediatrics. WCH will develop its own program in gynaecology, with more details to be announced as they become available. two For Clinical Support Services: There are many opportunities for collaborative partnerships. Following the de-merger, Women s College Hospital and Sunnybrook & Women s will continue to have partnerships for several clinical and support services. WCH will have its own infrastructure for admitting and reception, library, medical imaging, patient relations, occupational health and safety, risk management and medical legal management infrastructure effective April 1, 2006. S&W will provide services through a negotiated agreement for Infection Prevention and Control, Labs, Bio-Medical Engineering and Central Pharmacy (inpatient) services at WCH. Join chiefs for both S&W and WCH have been appointed for: Anatomical Pathology: Dr. Weddad Hanna Clinical Pathology: Dr. Marciano Reis Medical Imaging: Dr. Alan Moody Microbiology: Dr. Andy Simor Administration and Support Services Nancy Malcolm will become the new CEO of Women s College Hospital. WCH will assume management responsibility for its administration and corporate support services on April 1, 2006. WCH will have its own facilities services and planning, purchasing, logistics, communications, marketing and public affairs, health data resources, finance, decision support and HR infrastructure. Service Agreements are being developed for S&W to provide transactional accounting, payroll and benefits administration and IT services to WCH. Retail operations including the Pharmacentre (outpatient services), parking and food will be managed by WCH. continued on page three
What it all means... continued from page two Research The Centre for Research in Women s Health will become a partnership of WCH and the University of Toronto. Previously allotted grant dollars will follow the researchers. WCH will develop a strong academic focus with its own knowledge management infrastructure, inter-professional education and research programs, academic affiliations, ethics and patent offices. S&W will provide service for grant administration and research accounting. Governance Women s College Hospital will be an independently governed organization as of April 1, 2006. In November, the S&W Board approved a special resolution, which was also agreed to at the WCH Board of Directors, that changed the makeup of the hospital Board. The resolution involved the creation of a non-representational, skillsbased board of directors that would no longer have cross-appointments between the S&W and WCH Boards. Both Boards are committed to working together on other priorities and opportunities as we move into the future. Michele Landsberg is Chair of the WCH Board of Directors and Virginia McLaughlin is Chair of the S&W Board of Directors. Physician / Medical Staff WCH is delighted that Dr. James Ruderman has accepted the position of Chief of Staff. Dr. Ruderman was chosen both Ontario and Canadian Family Physician of the Year in 2005. His colleagues cited him for his outstanding leadership as a clinician and researcher, as well as for his personal qualities of warmth, modesty and wisdom. In this role, he will be responsible for the quality and delivery of care provided to patients of the hospital. As well, Dr. Ruderman will participate in the development of Women's College Hospital s mission, objectives and strategic plan, chair the WCH's Medical Advisory Committee, work closely with CEO Nancy Malcolm and serve as a member of the Women s College Hospital Board of Directors. Sunnybrook & Women s would like to thank Dr. Ruderman for his service as chair of the Medical Advisory Committee. Sunnybrook & Women s MAC will be making a recommendation at its March 14, 2006, meeting for a new Chair. The term of this appointment will be until June 30, 2007. Women's College Hospital will enact new MDMSA bylaws and a Medical Advisory Committee on April 1, 2006. The physician leaders at both sites continue to resolve physician and medical issues to ensure continuation of quality of care and patient safety. Transition agreements have been reached for on-call, consultation coverage and patient transfer protocols. Women's College Hospital medical administration will support recruitment and credentialing of new physicians at Women's College Hospital after April 1, 2006. More details will be shared over the next few weeks. three
Program Transfers: A Summary A program transfer refers to the process of transferring staff and funding allotments for a program from one organization to another. The boards of Sunnybrook & Women s and Women s College Hospital successfully reached agreement on which programs and services will be transferred to Women s College Hospital as of April 1, 2006. During the transition process, one of the foremost considerations was to ensure as little disruption as possible for patients, staff and physicians. The program and staff transfers, which will take effect on April 1, 2006, will not impede patient access to programs and services, or compromise patient safety or quality of care. As well, employees seniority and service are continuous upon transfer to Women s College Hospital from Sunnybrook & Women s in keeping with the Human Resources principles that were established (see Transition News #2, available online at www.sw.ca/programs/wcacc/transitionnews) Please note, there are a limited number of positions that provide service predominantly at one organization but who work one day a week or less at the other organization. The budget and staffing for these individuals will be managed in the organization where the majority of their work is conducted. four Hospital Assets As part of the Transfer Agreement, assets are being transferred. All assets that are currently the property of one program will continue to be the property of that same program. The proposed program transfer does not place the assets of the hospitals at any material risk. All shared and purchased clinical services related to the operation of the Primary and Ambulatory Care Program are between two public hospitals utilizing public funds and will not be diverted to the private sector. Employee Assistance Program Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential counseling and referral service for employees for assistance with grief, relationship issues, anxiety and depression, substance abuse, stress, legal, financial difficulties etc. The EAP service provider is Warren Shepell Consultants. Staff can call 1-800-387-4765 for first time appointments and counseling and 1-888-814-1328 for administrative matters, directions and general information. Foundation Update As a result of the de-merger, a new foundation will be established to support Women s College Hospital. The Sunnybrook & Women s Foundation will continue to receive and receipt donations on behalf of the new Women s College Hospital Foundation until it is able to assume these functions. Please be assured that all donations specifically designated to Women s College Hospital, the Women s College Ambulatory Care Centre, or to specific programs housed therein, will be directed according to the donor s wishes. Donors will receive a special letter in early April, advising them of the changes to the fundraising structure that is taking place. Donors may call the Sunnybrook & Women s Foundation at 416-480-4484 if they have any questions.
List of programs in Primary and Ambulatory Care Historic agreement continued from page one Programs that fall within the Primary and Ambulatory Care Program, to be transferred to Women's College Hospital, include: Brief Psychotherapy Centre for Women Environmental Health Clinic Family Practice Health Centre Foot Care Centre Health Watch Bay Centre for Birth Control Program for Midlife and Older Women / Menopause Education Women and Violence & General Counselling Program Women s Health Resource Centre / Library Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Care Centre (including Art Therapy) SPORT C.A.R.E. (including Athletes@Risk Program and Massage Therapy) 23-Hour Day Clinic and Stabilization Unit Dermatology Program (including the Cosmedic Clinic, Cover FX, Cosmetic Procedures, the Dermatology Laser Centre, General Dermatology, the Mohs Clinic, the Pigmented Lesion Clinic, Dermatology Day Care/Wound Healing, Phototherapy Education and Research Centre) Gastroenterology The Henrietta Banting Breast Centre Medical Clinics (Allergy Clinic, Internal Medicine Clinic, Medical Endocrine Clinic, Hypertension Clinic, Renal Clinic, Lipid Clinic, Medical Day Care, Haematology, Osteoporosis Program Tri-Hospital Diabetes Education Centre (TRIDEC) Urgent Care Centre Women s Recovering from Abuse Program Women s Cardiovascular Health Initiative Surgical Clinics Sunnybrook & Women s will begin exciting new capital redevelopment projects to double the size of its Emergency Department and Regional Trauma Centre and add a four floor addition on M-wing of the Sunnybrook Campus to provide a new home for the Perinatal and Gynaecology program currently housed at Women s College Hospital. Construction is set to begin on the Emergency Department in spring 2006 with the four floor M-wing development expected to begin soon thereafter. Both projects are expected to be complete by spring 2009, or sooner if possible. Improving patient care has always been our goal throughout this process and together we have taken significant strides in caring for women and babies, those who are critically-ill and seriously injured and those who require procedures that will greatly enhance their mobility and independence, said Virginia McLaughlin, Chair Sunnybrook & Women s Board of Directors. Our staff, physicians, patients, donors and volunteers are excited about moving forward on our capital development and creating centres of excellence in patient care, teaching and research. Another important component of Minister Smitherman s announcement last summer was an initiative to reduce lengthy wait-times for hip and knee replacements. continued on page six five
Historic agreement continued from page five The Minister chose Sunnybrook & Women s Holland Orthopaedic & Arthritic Centre to create a centre of excellence in hip and knee replacement surgery. The development of this centre is progressing ahead of schedule and has already increased its numbers of hip and knee replacements. The Holland Centre already performs the largest number of hip and knee replacements in Canada, but over the next few years the centre will more than double its volumes from 1,800 procedures a year to 4,100. Women s College Hospital and Sunnybrook & Women s emerge as strong organizations that will continue to play important roles in the Ontario healthcare system. ~ The Honourable Elinor Caplan ~ This newsletter is produced by the Joint Communications Sub-Committee of the Women's College Transition process with representation from Sunnybrook & Women's, Women's College Hospital and the S&W Foundation. six