"It Certainly Was A Year Of Change"

The Board Chair for Southern Health-Santé Sud says 2016-2017 was a year of change for the regional health authority.

The RHA held its annual general meeting Wednesday night in Steinbach. Abe Bergen notes there was so much change in leadership at the board level, in administration and government. But Bergen says it is his feeling that as a group they rose to the challenge and have a great team in place.

One of those changes involved the hiring of a new Chief Executive Officer. Jane Curtis took over in late April. She says the first five months have been really good.

"I work with an excellent team of people and I certainly couldn't do this job without them," says Curtis. "Our board came together and it's been like they've been working together for years."

Bergen says they ended the year with a surplus of $2 million. He notes that is a very small percentage when you consider the RHA works with a budget of $400 million.

He notes the completion of three capital projects was a real highlight of 2016-2017, including the opening of the new Tabor Home in Morden, the completion of the Bethesda Primary Care Centre in Steinbach and the ribbon cutting for the health care centre in Notre Dame. He is also excited about the announcement for additional beds at Rest Haven in Steinbach.

At Wednesday night's annual general meeting, three individuals shared personal stories of their recovery from mental health concerns. Curtis says Ann Thompson-Courchene, Jackie Koop, and Ken Reddig are courageous for being willing to open up. She says there is still a stigma out there.

"I think if more people shared their stories it would just become more normal and I think for me that was really what stuck out is these people are really the pioneers in the mental health area," says Curtis. "By them sharing their stories it's going to encourage others to and eventually that's the way we're going to get rid of the stigma."

Meanwhile, the RHA Wednesday night handed quality service awards (right inset) to Sheila Dheilly, Stephanie Rozsa, Carol Cairns and Karen Dyck. As well, a Service Excellence Team Award was handed to the Information and Communication Technology team. And, Pearl Plett was handed the CEO Career Achievement Award. Plett has worked more than 57 years of continuous service as a nurse in the region. She is presently employed as a casual Registered Nurse at Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach.