The announcement made last week by the government of Saskatchewan to amalgamate 12 regional health authorities into a single provincial health authority has created some uncertainties among Saskatchewan residents.

Swift Current Online reached out to the Cypress Health Region to get their reaction to the announcement.  

Cypress Health Region's new Interim-CEO Larry Allsen described how he found out about the government of Saskatchewan's announcement.

"We pretty much found out the same time as the general public did. Outside of Beth being second to the position, we waited for the report just like everybody else and we found out Wednesday morning as well," Allsen said Thursday morning. "Beth even in her secondment didn't have a lot of details of which direction the province was going in. We sat and watched the media release just like everyone else."

He went on to share his initial thoughts on the announcement made by the government of Saskatchewan.

"Right now it's really early to be speculating on where things are going to go. We know the province is looking at getting the board in place which is the first step, they need to get some legislation in place as well. Even if that's in place by the fall, there is still a lot of things that have to be worked through to get an organization of that magnitude up in running. You need to get your organizational structures in place and your processes in place," he said.

Allsen has been working in the Cypress Health Region for approximately 30 years and explained the transition period to a single provincial health authority shouldn't affect the health care service in the province. 

"As far as the day-to-day care for the residents of Saskatchewan that shouldn't change and we can't stress that enough. What's happening in the background administratively shouldn't affect people's care at the front line," he said.    

Allsen will be retaining his position as Chief Financial Officer and VP of Corporate Services, while also taking on the responsibilities of the CEO of the Cypress Health Region.