By Mario deSantis, April 10, 2000

Last week I made reference to the labour relations consultants of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) who could be behaving like hoodlums in providing their human resource services to health districts(1). Today, Pat Atkinson is faced with the enormous task to clean up her underwear(2) and her announcement to appoint the labour relations specialist Ken Hutchinson to the Regina District Health Board(3) will assure that the dirty laundry is laundered at home. Also, given the financial predicament of the district, Hutchinson will assure a "mean & lean" controlling direction of the human resources of the district. For this government people are not the most important asset, people are just another economic resource to downsize when it is adequate or to assemble when it is too scarce(4), that is people are just economic resources to exploit and extract value(5).

We measure people by the company and associations they keep and therefore, without using the statistical tools of linear regression and correlation(6), I am going to use this metre to have a confident opinion for assessing the quality and integrity of Ken Hutchinson's services. Hutchinson has worked in human resources for some thirty years and has provided services for the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations and for the Regina General Hospital. Also, he has been a very close associate and 'buddy' of Hewitt Helmsing, former president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Health-Care Association. Therefore, Ken Hutchinson comes on board of the Regina District Health Board with a wealth of knowledge in health care payroll(7) and employee benefits(8), in hospital constructions(9), in employees' separations for the disadvantaged(10)(11), and in employees' resignations for the few and privileged (12).

I forward my congratulations to Ken Hutchinson for joining again the Regina District Health Board's buddies as we look forward to Premier Romanow's dialogue on health care.

Endnotes

Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient to make your point once and then blame the world for not getting it. The world has a vested interest in, a commitment to, not getting it. The point has to be made patiently and repeatedly, day after day after day" ftp://sysdyn.mit.edu/ftp/sdep/Roadmaps/RM1/D-4143-1.pdf http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/default.htm

General reference: Articles by Mario deSantis published by North Central Internet News

1. The two primary needs of health reform: independence of the districts & the booting out of hoodlums, by Mario deSantis, April 5, 2000

2. A message for Health Minister Pat Atkinson: Wear Clean Underwear, by Mario deSantis, February 8, 2000

3. NEW MEMBERS APPOINTED TO REGINA DISTRICT HEALTH BOARD, Government News Release, April 6, 2000 Health - 177, http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/2000/04/06-177.html

4. Pat Atkinson, the Shortage of Nurses and the Rule of Law, by Mario deSantis, January 26, 2000

5. Nursing strike didn't solve problems CBC Saskatchewan http://sask.cbc.ca/ Web Posted | Apr 8 2000 1:28 PM Rosalie Longmore, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, says there's still big problems. "They're still working very long hours, and unfortunately, the provincial budget doesn't encourage us a whole lot, in fact, it's probably going to get worse."

6. Fragmented Research comes to the help of Saskatchewan Reform, by Mario deSantis, September 28, 1999

7. SAHO Payroll Policies: Saving Money out of Ongoing Catastrophes, by Mario deSantis, February 9, 1999

8. Is the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) above the Law?, by Mario deSantis, October 29, 1998

9. The closure of the Plains Health Centre: The $50 million overrun and the gimmick of saving money in health care, by Mario deSantis, December 19, 1999

10. Replica of the unsigned letter dated May 21, 1982 from Randy Bruce, Director of Employee Benefits, to Mario deSantis. First letter of dismissal. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-letter-RBruce-May21-82.htm

11. Replica of the signed letter dated May 25, 1982 from Randy Bruce, Director of Employee Benefits, to Mario deSantis. Second letter of dismissal. http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-letter-RBruce-May25-82.htm

12. Article in The Leader Post Helmsing, SHA settle: Severance not disclosed, Regina, September 29, 1993 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/desam/paper-article-HelmsingSettlement-Sept29-93.htm