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Baycrest Impact Bulletin - SUMMER 2018

Baycrest Health Sciences & Baycrest Foundation Publications

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4 The last few years of financial planning at Baycrest have been mainly guided by the need for developing contingency plans and finding efficiencies to balance our budget, weathering revenue challenges and funding freezes imposed by our government. Last year, we were able to emerge from that period with a 1.5% inflationary increase in Hospital operating funding granted by the province. This year, we saw a total increase of 1.3%, of which only 0.6% was for inflation and general cost pressures. As a result of the hard work done by staff members working on funding formulas and applying for available grants to specific areas of capital funding needs, fiscal year 2017-18 saw Baycrest receive $4.3M through the Hospital Infrastructure Renewal Fund (HIRF) and $720,000 granted via the Healthcare Energy Efficiency Program (HEEP). The HIRF funding allowed Baycrest to address numerous infrastructure needs across campus over the last year, including renovations and upgrades to our kitchen. Meanwhile, the HEEP funding has allowed us to complete a lighting retrofit across campus which will allow us to save on energy costs. It is important to understand that while these capital funding mechanisms were available to Baycrest for Fiscal Year 2017-18, there is no guarantee we will get similar levels of funding in the new fiscal year. Accordingly, we cannot plan around the expectation of these same funding levels. As such, we will continue to contingency plan for any similar revenue needs in these areas in Fiscal Year 2018-19. Similarly, it must be understood that the specific funding above is unrelated to the general funding to hospital revenue given by the province. Our ongoing operating revenue needs for costs such as upgrades to beds, care equipment and supplies, and salaries remain a priority. While our financial position has improved, we continue to look at ways to maintain this positive momentum. As we have learned in the past, we cannot fiscally rely on increased operating funding from the provincial annual budget. It is necessary that we continue to find ways to run our services more efficiently, find new revenue sources, and position ourselves to save for operating revenue needs across the campus. We are in the midst of a multi- year budget plan that continues to see us refocusing our resources as we work towards a surplus, which will allow us to reinvest in necessary infrastructure, capital projects and staffing in the years ahead. Balancing financial prudence and optimism Brian Mackie, Vice-President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer, Baycrest Elaine Lambert described her family's experience with dementia at the Ontario's Dementia Strategy announcement at Baycrest, May 2017: "There are 168 hours in a week, 24 hours a day for seven days. And for 158 hours, I am my husband's caregiver and I'm on constant duty… There are 10 hours left in the week which are the hours that he spends at the Mountainview Club and they are the only hours where I can say that I am truly relaxed knowing that he is in good hands… All the staff are so kind and so warm and so loving, and they engage him in programs and they give him a good lunch, and they treat him with dignity and respect. I am more grateful than I can say for this program."

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