The restorative care unit at the Chesley hospital may get a stay of execution, but at a high price for the South Bruce Grey Health Centre.
President and CEO Paul Rosebush says the Southwest LHIN is suggesting the hospital use a balanced budget waiver in order to go into a deficit position when its fiscal year begins on April 1.
He says this would allow the hospital corporation to keep the RCU operating beyond its scheduled closure date of May 1 while the LHIN finishes up a study of rehabilitative care in the region, which he expects to happen in the next six to eight weeks.
Rosebush says the problem is there's no funding being offered up, so the hospital would have to cover the entire $850,000 cost of operating the RCU if it were to keep running for the entire fiscal year, adding they would have to draw from capital reserves to cover the added cost.
"Our board is going to have more conversations with the LHIN about this and we're still going to look at all the options possible. But the South Bruce Grey Health Centre funding this out of our working capital [reserves] or in a deficit scenario, it's just not a good picture for us," says Rosebush.
The decision on whether or not to move into a deficit must be made quickly, as Rosebush points out the board will decide by Tuesday if it will extend the restorative care program, which allows patients to stay in hospital for about an extra month in order to receive rehabilitative care.
Rosebush adds ultimately the decision sits with the LHIN, adding it has the power to overrule the hospital board and order the restorative care unit to stay open. If that scenario were to play out, Rosebush says the board would have to make cuts elsewhere in their budget to get out of a deficit position.
"The LHIN plans funds and manages health care, so they could tell us to stay open and move into a deficit, knowing that deficits are illegal," says Rosebush.
He says the program continues to accept patients even as it enters its final month, adding they are usually around 80-percent of capacity at any given time.
