Now that a record flu season is all but over, efforts are underway to balance the books at Windsor Regional Hospital.
In October, the provincial government announced $1.5-million to provide 20 more beds to help with the flu season.
The funding ended March 31st but as of the start of April there were still nine patients in the hospital recovering from the flu.
VP Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, Mark Fathers says after the provincial budget was released this spring, there was a conference call indicated more funding could be coming. "There was a debrief between the Ministry of Health and the hospitals. They indicated there was most likely going to be some additional funding announced to help cover this transitional period."
But Fathers says it's not clear if the funding will be rolled into one announcement covering next year's flu season. "I think they're applying a similar approach for the flu season for 2018-19 and I don't know whether they're suggesting it's an advance payment of those funds or additional."
"The province is showing it will accommodate the costs of unexpected situations is a good sign," says Fathers. "I think it's positive that they're recognizing the need and nothing is totally contained within the operating year of a hospital, there's always transitional issues that we have to deal with. I think the ministry's starting to show some flexibility there."
Fathers expects the funding will come as a one-time amount.