NEED OF TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGES IN SASKATCHEWAN:

the problems in healthcare are of a systemic nature

Mr. Hewitt Helmsing along with other healthcare leaders...mismanaged the SHA Retirement plan by not paying their compulsory share of their pension

Healthcare Reform and New Economic Policies, Part 3
Is the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) above the Law?

November 1, 1998
By Mario deSantis

In the last two papers^{(1) (2)} we have shown that for the last two decades SAHO has provided a corrupted leadership and has prevented the realization of the Saskatchewan Vision for Health as health reform were implemented. We showed that SAHO is an authoritarian organization⁽³⁾, uses intimidation practices to curtail the freedom of people, uses monopolistic business practices against the interests of the districts⁽⁴⁾, follows a management philosophy to grow bigger rather than better⁽⁵⁾, and in the process becomes more incompetent and wastes taxpayer money⁽⁶⁾. I reiterate that the problems in healthcare are of a systemic nature⁽⁷⁾, they began in the late 70s when Mr. Hewitt Helmsing became CEO of the Saskatchewan Health-Care Association, continued in the 80s with the overbuilding of healthcare facilities, and are continuing today with the secretive failure of the Stargarden payroll project and closed door decision making policies of district health boards. In the Spring of 1997 I provided some healthcare informational material to Ms. Stevie Cameron⁽⁸⁾ and she replied that the picture I painted in what is occurring in Saskatchewan health care system is a harrowing one; she also added that she regretted not having the time to investigate this health care system herself.

In the last article, I mentioned that SAHO is not presently audited by the Provincial Auditor and I raised the prospect that SAHO/SHA⁽⁹⁾ is above the law. Yes, as I am concerned, SAHO/SHA has been above the law for many years. In the late 70s and early 80s, as Administrator of Employee Benefits Plans for this organization, I was instrumental in allowing SAHO/SHA to self-administer the Retirement plan, and later in the Fall of 1981 I designed and implemented in a span of three months the first pension microcomputer system to comply with the new provincial pension legislation. At this same time, Mr. Hewitt Helmsing along with other healthcare leaders were busy in building their personal empires and not happy with their salaries, mismanaged the SHA Retirement plan by not paying their compulsory share of their pension contributions and in so doing they caused the misappropriation of public funds⁽¹⁰⁾. What is worse is not the corruption of the SHA Retirement plan and the consequential misappropriation of public funds, but the fact that these same healthcare leaders went unpunished and continued to wield their political and business power for years to come⁽¹¹⁾.

The Provincial Auditor has provided in the last few years an outstanding example of a learning organization⁽¹²⁾ to the service of the Saskatchewan people. His employees are motivated to be creative and make a difference⁽¹³⁾. I believe that it is time that all public agencies strive to become learning organizations, and that if we want to realize the Saskatchewan Vision for Health then public remedies must be taken to redimension the role of SAHO and change their autocratic leadership.