The amalgamation process is underway in Saskatchewan for the 12 health regions.

Cypress Health Region's CEO/CFO Larry Allsen and board chairperson Lyle Quintin met with the Health Quality Council recently and reported to the health region's board meeting in Swift Current Wednesday that things are going well.

The Health Quality Council is interviewing board members from all 12 regions for the consolidation process, asking about what's needed for the training process.

Allsen said the transition process takes a lot of thought. He said that while things will be centrally located, you still need people on the ground in different areas to do the work, and things need to be clear with who they report to as soon as consolidation happens.

"There's a lot of work to do," he said. "The talk is late fall, end of December, the PHA (Provincial Health Authority), the legislation is enacted, and away we go. But that doesn't mean there'll be this massive job cut."

Allsen is saying while positions may have a different look, he's confident people on the front lines shouldn't lose their jobs.

"All the people that are working on the front lines - front-line managers, directors - I can't guarantee them a job, but I would say that they all will still have a job. It may look a little different, they make take on a little more, a little less, it depends on how the structure roles out. But you can't pull the people out of the system or the system will collapse."

While Allsen may not have a position come late fall, he thinks it's critical to have ample employees outside of the Saskatoon centre.

"You still need those people managing people, because people need direction," he said.