Health region deficit drops by almost 50%

Prairie Mountain Health saw its deficit fall by almost 50 per cent in the 2025-26 fiscal year, the health authority said during its annual general meeting on Thursday.

The decrease from a deficit of $34.9 million in 2024-25 to this year’s $18.4 million is largely due to less dependence on agency nurses, said chief financial officer Dan McGregor.

“We’ve had a decrease in our agency use, which certainly has helped decrease that deficit amount,” McGregor said during the online meeting that was attended by about 60 people.

According to the annual report, staffing hours for agency nurses and health-care aides dropped by 36 per cent from 115,108 hours to 73,204 hours in the reported period from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.

Treena Slate, PMH chief executive officer, said it’s not abnormal for the health region to rely more on agency staff.

“A number of our facilities are in very remote, sparsely populated areas with an aging population. This region will rely on a mobile workforce, and it has for a number of years. However, we want to ensure that that mobile workforce is our own employees,” Slate said.

McGregor said ongoing recruitment in those areas has reduced agency staff and overtime costs, leading to a 43 per cent drop in agency travel, accommodation and meal costs for the health authority, from $4.67 million to $2.66 million.

While the overall deficit is down, the health authority’s net debt increased from $536.6 million to $676.3 million, which is mainly for infrastructure projects rather than day-to-day operations, the report said.

Slate provided updates on the various capital projects still underway in the region and praised the success of the critical care building at the Brandon Regional Health Centre since its opening in the summer.

She also announced the addition of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to the fourth floor of the building.

In a news release issued later in the day, the province said the NICU will have 21 private care rooms and a 24-bed capacity. The anticipated opening date for the new NICU will be in 2028, the province said.

Construction on the new Neepawa hospital continues, and PMH expects to “occupy the facility” in late 2027, Slate said.

She added that a hemodialysis suite will be in the new hospital with nine dialysis stations, but it isn’t expected to be operational until a few years after the hospital opens.

In Dauphin, “a number of diagnostic services, or mostly all of our usual diagnostic services with the exception of MRI,” are “up and running,” Slate said.

On the recruitment front, the health authority hired 29 new physicians this fiscal year, bringing the total number of physicians in PMH to 288 as of last month, according to the annual report.

The health authority is working to recruit more medical students to the region, Slate said.

“Our communities are active partners in this work around showcasing what their communities can offer and provide, and that is really key to us recruiting and retaining physicians within our region.”

Slate added that through various post-secondary schools across the province, “we have some medical resident programs within the region, including in Dauphin, Neepawa and Brandon, so there’s many opportunities for medical students.”

» rgerrard@brandonsun.com