Faced with the news that it may receive no increase in provincial funds for the fiscal year 2009-10, Headwaters Health Care Centre is studying scaling back services at its Shelburne campus, the former Shelburne District Hospital, as one way of maintaining the same level of services elsewhere with less money.

One scenario under consideration would involve reducing chronic care and rehabilitation operations at Shelburne and moving them to Orangeville.

Meanwhile, Headwaters CEO Cholly Boland says rumours of a November 30 closure of the Shelburne facility are definitely not true.

In an interview Wednesday, Mr. Boland explained that, while provincial funding likely will not increase, expenses certainly will and the hospital will be looking at a possible $2.2 million deficit for the fiscal year which begins April 1, 2010.

Emphasizing that while transferring patients from Shelburne's chronic care and rehab facility to Orangeville is under consideration at the moment, it was "certainly not a done deal," Mr. Boland said 70 per cent of the patients in Shelburne come from the southern end of Dufferin County.

He pointed out that about 200 patients a year are first served in Orangeville before being sent to Shelburne, adding that it could be more beneficial if these patients could be "transferred down the hall rather than to another facility.

"It would prevent needless transportation and allows the staff to work together more effectively."

He said the staff at Headwaters is working on different possible scenarios where Headwaters could reduce the number of beds without sacrificing the level of services.

For example, he says a hospital bed at Headwaters is in use an average of 83 per cent of the time.

Through more efficient use of time and resources, that could be increased to, perhaps, 90 per cent of the time.

While scaling back the Shelburne facility was a distinct possibility, Mr. Boland said removal of the outpatient X-ray facility on the premises is not under consideration.

"Our number one goal," he said, "is to balance, not cut, the budget and to maintain, or improve, the level of care."