A Report On Corporate Governance Of Regional Health Authorities In Alberta

Author : Alberta Jantina DenBroeder-van Beveren
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (133 download)

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Download or read book Examining Regional Hospital Governance, Exploring Board Structure and Roles and Their Relationship to the Community written by Alberta Jantina DenBroeder-van Beveren and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines hospital board governance in a regional context. Specifically, this research focuses on the structure (i.e., selection, composition, representation and accountability) and the role of governance as well as the conceptualization of community and community participation at the board level. The importance of community participation in health care has been a central theme in numerous Canadian provincial government documents in the last decade. One of the implicit assumptions of these reports is that increased community participation in governance will improve the delivery of health care and provide services that are more responsive to local needs. In practice, however, the importance of community participation as a governance role is unclear. Does it mean governance must reflect the diversity of the community, in terms of geography, social characteristics, expertise or interests? What is the meaning of community and community participation from the perspective of respondents? Further, to what extent is community participation occurring at a board level? To explore these questions this study describes one regional hospital board in New Brunswick identified as "Grande-Ville". The study draws upon three theoretical perspectives: neo-structural functionalism, neo-pluralism, and neo-social conflict as a broad baseline to identify significant issues and compare the implications of each approach. In undertaking this research different sources are used including documents, interviews with key informants, and observations of meetings. Based on this exploration, experience the study found a predominance of community leaders on the regional Board with the majority appointed by elected municipal officials. While Board members considered themselves as community stewards and advocates representing the broader community, most did not see themselves as having to be directly accountable to either the community or the government. Nevertheless, those appointed by municipal leaders typically expressed allegiance to their local community and believed they had a responsibility toward them. With respect to community participation activities, respondents provided an array of activities in which the board was involved including open board meetings, meetings with community leaders, health professionals and other public officials. By and large these activities were designed to inform or consult rather than involve the community in decision-making.