Newfoundland and Labrador have made the bold move of merging four regional health authorities into one. CMEPP is excited to be contributing to the province’s proactive approach to delivering a more efficient and cost-effective healthcare system.

After more than a year of discussions and deliberations, the newly merged health authority in Newfoundland and Labrador has taken a significant step towards management of its medical equipment contracts and is now a Participant member of CMEPP.

“Their decision to work with CMEPP marks a pivotal moment for healthcare in this province,” said Shawn Ward, CMEPP’s Relationship Executive in Atlantic Canada. “It’s just one of many big steps forward the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is taking that will have a positive impact.”

Being a witness to the transformation process helped Shawn and the other members of the CMEPP team who came into the conversation, including CMEPP CEO Nils Clausen, understand why the process needed to move slowly and methodically. “Provincial governance change is a complex process that takes time, so we have to be patient and understand the overall implications of this kind of transformation,” said Nils.

“We’re evaluating how their equipment is being managed now – and where we can help provide savings and support,” says Shawn. In their many meetings with people across the system, Shawn and Nils were impressed with the leadership team’s openness to new approaches and innovative thinking.

“NLHS’ new partnership with CMEPP is another innovative way in which we are striving to provide improved access to diagnostic imaging in all our facilities,” said Tony Poole, Senior Provincial Director, Medical Imaging at NLHS. “Working with CMEPP will ensure preventative maintenance and service interruptions are resolved quickly using OEMs or third-party vendors.”

Tony emphasized how the partnership provides an avenue for older equipment that is no longer supported by the OEMs. “The flexibility and the financial stewardship opportunities it provides are game changers.”

For many provinces in Atlantic Canada, almost everything related to healthcare, including repairing a piece of laboratory equipment, can be expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. Our goal, says Shawn, is to support them through their financial challenges with analysis of their current service arrangements and then present our findings with options for consideration. “We’re also confident that we’ll be able to help with some of their resource challenges at the same time.”