Hi Everyone:
I'd like to spend a few minutes updating you on UHN's budget process. In this new era of multi-year funding, Hospital Accountability Agreements and legislated balanced budgets, UHN is working hard to meet our fiscal targets.
We are focusing on eliminating a $10 million run-rate deficit, which should allow us to keep our costs close to a balanced position this year. Our Senior Management Team is committed to introducing innovative strategies for savings while maintaining current levels of clinical activity to meet the needs of our patients.
Over the last few months, six budget teams (emergency/GIM, pharmacy, labs/DI utilization, surgical services/OR, weighted cases and chart completion, and energy management) have been working hard to identify efficiencies and control any projected run rate while maintaining our services and outcome quality.
The budget teams have presented recommendations to the Senior Management Team. They've left no "rock" unturned by proposing innovative and practical strategies, such as reducing duplication of laboratory tests, ensuring that drugs are used according to best practice protocols, finding energy savings and improving patient flow. We're now reviewing the various recommendations and will be identifying which we can implement in the short and long-term. We expect to finalize the implementation strategy by the end of the year.
Planning has started for the 2006/07 fiscal year with managers in the process of receiving their budgets.
We should all be pleased with our efforts to reduce costs. For example, we've retrofitted the lighting system in the RFE Building with sensors that detect occupancy and daylight. This was a practical step towards reducing our utility costs. As a result, we will save approximately $50,000 each year - not to mention winning an award from Natural Resources Canada.
Thanks to everybody for their hard work and creative solutions. Coming up with new ideas is always a lot of work, but I'm confident that we will meet our fiscal objectives, as always. Let's keep on working together to maintain patient centered care within our fiscal constraints.
Bob
