A money tree … if only it were that simple.

So began Glen Copping’s presentation at Vancouver’s All-Staff Forum on July 16. Our Chief Financial Officer and VP of Systems Development & Performance kicked off the forum with a thought-provoking overview of Vancouver Coastal Health’s 2014/15 financial picture.

Thanks to your contributions, VCH closed the 2013/14 fiscal year with a relatively small operating surplus of $11.7 million. (We say “small” because our annual budget exceeds $3 billion.)

For 2014/15, VCH funding increases by roughly 1.6 per cent. But, as Glen explained, we can’t become complacent or lose focus on the need for continual quality improvement and sustainability. When it comes to balancing our budget, enhancing quality and achieving new levels of efficiency are two sides of the same coin.

Vancouver’s priorities and budget

In Vancouver, our story is much the same as last year’s. In 2014/15, demand for our services is increasing faster than our $1.15-billion budget. Together, we must find close to $14 million in savings. While this may seem daunting, we only have to look at what we’ve achieved in the past to recognize what is still possible.

Our priority is to generate savings through quality care enhancements, improved outcomes for patients and clients, and cost efficiencies — not job or service losses. During the forum we outlined our areas of focus for the year and our plan for balancing this year’s budget.

More than 100 savings ideas

We also asked you for your ideas — and you delivered. In fact, we have our work cut out for us.

Altogether, we’ve received more than 100 potential saving opportunities, and our commitment to you is that your ideas won’t disappear into a “black hole”. While we may be unable to act on all, we will give each and every suggestion careful consideration, and as a next step we’ll share the common themes with you in the near future.

It’s not too late to participate, either. If you have ideas for improving efficiency and effectiveness in your workplace, we welcome them at:  OneVancouver@vch.ca.

Learn more at your convenience

If you couldn’t join us at the forum, we hope you’ll watch the webcast and learn more about our priorities, our plan for savings and how you can make a difference. We also highly recommend Glen’s videos:

Quality care remains our priority

Together, we are well regarded for being innovative, for pushing new ideas forward, and, most importantly, for delivering quality care. We’ve faced challenges before — and succeeded. This year will be no different.

Thank you for your commitment and, most of all, thank you for caring. We look forward to supporting you on the journey ahead, and we always welcome your questions at OneVancouver@vch.ca.