The renewed Misericordia ER is scheduled to open by the fall of 2023
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The much-anticipated new emergency department at Misericordia Community Hospital is nearing completion, replacing the ER of more than half a century ago.
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The walls are finished and the floors are finished in a new $65 million West End hospital expansion that is three times the size of the current ER and has a capacity of 60,000 patients a year. Built in 1969, the current emergency department was built for 25,000 patients a year, but is regularly expanded to 50,000 annual visitors.
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The Covenant Foundation, which raises funds for Covenant Health-run facilities like Misericordia, hopes to raise $2.6 million for the new ER by next year’s opening. Officials on Wednesday announced that he had already raised $1.6 million toward that goal, including her $500,000 donation from the Edmonton Citizens Employees Charitable Assistance Fund.
The dilapidated hospital has suffered maintenance problems in recent years, including floods in 2013 that canceled dozens of surgeries, and floods in 2018 that closed the emergency department for several days.
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The state government donated more than $25 million to hospitals between 2015 and 2018 to try to curb some of the most pressing maintenance issues. But Misercordia’s senior operating officer, Jo Ann Molloy, said the hospital’s emergency department needs to grow to accommodate the current patient population.
The current ER is built for 26 treatment spaces, while the new facility has 64 spaces.
“It will improve the pace at which people are seen, the number of people seen,” Molloy said.
The new emergency department is also designed with large windows and natural light spaces that 1960s ERs lacked.
There is also a waiting room dedicated to mental health patients with eight treatment spaces. The idea is to free people from generic ER, which can be an unpredictable environment.
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“[These patients]also tend to have longer wait times,” Molloy said. “We can actually start including some wraparound services for them while they’re here with us.”
Exam rooms in most parts of the ER have glass doors instead of just curtains, and there are five new isolation rooms instead of just one. These are some of the lessons he learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure patient safety.
Molloy said Misericordia will need more staff when the ER is operational, from cleaning and maintenance workers to additional doctors and nurses.
“Like elsewhere in Canada, we are currently facing staffing issues,” she said.
“We have a recruitment campaign underway here, especially for the emergency department, with pretty good results.”
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Health Minister Jason Copping came to Misericordia on Wednesday to get a glimpse of the improved ER and acknowledged the challenges Alberta’s hospitals are currently facing amid a “very busy and early flu season”. .
The increased circulation of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses has sent more patients to hospitals, making children especially sick.
Copping added that the emergency department is one of the state government’s “top priorities.”
“More is coming. We are looking at expanding our medical school and are looking at making other changes to improve immigration flows. A lot of work has already been done. More is coming. there is something.”
Editor’s note: This article has been edited to correct the days of the week when the Minister of Health was in Misericordia.
masmith@postmedia.com
The renewed Misericordia ER is scheduled to open by the fall of 2023
Source link The renewed Misericordia ER is scheduled to open by the fall of 2023