A $12 million public campaign designed to raise pledge donations
from corporations, individuals, local businesses, service clubs
and foundations. The campaign is a challenging and extraordinary
event in the life of our area!
Construction Of A New Hospital
Plans are now in place to build a new 54,000-square-foot Centre
Grey Hospital. The village of Markdale will continue to be the location
of the hospital, although the current site will not be maintained.
The new hospital will include:
- Construction of a new 54,000 square foot hospital
- Expanded emergency department
- Improved ambulatory care department
- Larger patient rooms
- Fully handicapped accessibility
- Energy efficient heating and electrical systems
- Proper layout of medical departments
- Modern design
- New technology and equipment including PACS
In making the decision to amalgamate, the Ministry of Health recognized
that major reinvestment was needed in healthcare in Grey and Bruce
Counties, and that the Markdale site in particular required extensive
capital redevelopment. Reinvestment in the Centre Grey Hospital
had been called for in four previous accreditation surveys dating
back to 1992. The Ministry agreed that without significant action,
the increasing obsolete nature of the Hospital building would jeopardize
the quality of care delivered at the local level. The specific problems
faced by Markdale include the following:
General redevelopment of the physical
plant is required
Much of the physical plant at the Centre Grey Hospital is outdated
and below current hospital codes. This is the result of age –
most of the hospital was constructed 42 years ago – and heavy
use. Also, the design of the hospital is based on an acute care
model of health delivery whereby patients stayed in-house for long
periods of time. Today, ambulatory care is the predominant department
area of service. Simply put, the layout of the hospital is now increasingly
at odds with the style of medicine being implemented by health professionals.
More space and proper design are needed in order to accommodate
expanded diagnostic imaging, specialty care services, and the ongoing
operation of the Hospital.
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The Emergency Department is outdated
The emergency department at the Hospital has not been updated in
over 30 years and now requires rebuilding. Since the hospital’s
emergency unit was first constructed in 1960, annual visits have
steadily increased over time and in 2001/2002 there was over 16,500
visits to the department. After more than 30 years without renovation,
It is undersized based on the number of visits taking place on an
annual basis and it is poorly laid out in terms of waiting rooms,
triage, and access to the nursing station. The physical appearance
of the emergency department is also in need of improvement and security
features must be added in order to provide better safety for patients
and night staff. While current 24-hour emergency service remains
at acceptable levels (with a physician on-call at all times), physical-plant
needs are so extensive that rebuilding, rather than renovation,
is the best option. Effecting change today is necessary so that
the Hospital can continue to provide quality service and so that
care can be effectively provided even in the most serious of emergencies.
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Building and safety systems must be redone
Over the past 8 years the Hospital has completed recommended upgrades
to the physical plant; ongoing and preventive maintenance programs
(i.e. plumbing, windows, boilers, air conditioning, etc.) have also
been implemented. However, in 1999, a mechanical and electrical
survey commissioned by the Hospital determined that in spite of
diligent maintenance, all mechanical systems were considered “aged
and failing”. Major work must, therefore, be done including
renovations, system upgrades, and in some cases, full system replacement.
A new ambulatory care unit is required
The provision of ambulatory care – defined as any medical
service where the patient walks into and out of the Hospital on
the same day (and does not require an overnight stay) – needs
to be consolidated into one area of the Hospital. This will enable
the medical staff to more adequately handle this area of patient
care, which now accounts for 69% of Hospital visits. The current
space allocation for outpatient services, spread throughout the
first floor (and including the emergency unit) is now simply too
small, dislocated, and inefficient. Issues of privacy, dignified
treatment, and a positive environment for patients are also becoming
challenging.
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Day surgery facilities must be improved
The surgical program at the Hospital is a major component of the
overall package of healthcare services offered to the catchment
area. Eighty-six percent of surgery performed at the Hospital is
done on an outpatient basis and more than 1,800 patients used the
surgical day care area in 2001/2002. Unfortunately, the current
location of the surgery suites no longer provides for efficiency
considering surgery’s reliance on other departments, technology,
and programs. Specifically, the surgical area needs to be redesigned
and upgraded in order to achieve the following:
- Better reception and preparations areas (including registration,
changing, treatment, and waiting)
- More efficient patient recovery area and support area
- Accessibility for family and care givers who accompany patients
- Improvements for pre-admission anesthesia clinic patients
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Bed allocation needs to be adjusted
Accommodation of acute and continuing complex care patients remains
a priority at the Hospital. This means that, given the changing
nature of patient care, three crucial bed-space improvements must
be made at the Hospital:
- Allocation of bed space must be changed to meet current and
anticipated demand. This means moving from a current 21 bed to
a possible 24 acute care bed facility.
- All patient rooms must be brought up to 2002 standards as regulated
by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.
- The positioning of patient rooms must be strategically located
in relation to nursing stations, support services, and complementing
medical departments. This means major changes to the current Hospital
layout.
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New technology and medical equipment are needed
As part of rebuilding the Centre Grey Hospital, new medical equipment
must also be obtained. This is the case because, while modern facilities
mean better care, hospitals today are also defined by the quality
of their medical technology. Establishing a hospital equipment fund
is the best long-term approach to this issue, since it would allow
for timely, strategic, and well-planned purchases that fit within
the service needs and operations of the hospital. Such a fund would
provide stability and security for the community and would place
the hospital in a position of strength.
The first purchases to be made through the equipment fund would
be an MRI machine and PACS, bought in partnership with the other
hospitals within the Grey Bruce Health Services, for which the Hospital
has already received Ministry approval subject to community funding
and construction. Located in Owen Sound, the MRI will be the only
one of its kind within an approximate 50 kilometre radius. The new
MRI machine will have dramatic effect saving lives and will enable
the medical staff to diagnose and treat illness quickly and with
minimum duress. Head injuries, surgical planning, cancer identification,
and brain abnormalities are easier to spot with an MRI. Not achieving
an MRI would put the area behind other parts of the province in
terms of its diagnostic abilities. The PACS would be on site in
Markdale and would significantly enhance local diagnostic abilities.
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The Challenge
The challenge facing the Hospital and the entire surrounding community
is that the needs outlined in this document must be addressed if
access to quality care is to be preserved. After forty-two years
of service the Hospital can no longer provide a proper environment
for healthcare delivery. If radical changes are not made, medical
services will have to start being withdrawn from Markdale, physician
recruitment will become even more difficult, and the Hospital’s
standing as a leading local institution will be threatened. This
is a serious and urgent situation with far reaching consequences
should the challenge not be met.
The Plan
The Board of Directors of Grey Bruce Health Services in consultation
with the Centre Grey Health Services Foundation, the Grey Bruce
Health Network, Grey Bruce Huron Perth District Health Council,
the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, and engineering and construction
experts examined three possible options for resolving Hospital needs:
renovate of the current facility, demolish the old Hospital and
build an new one on the same site, and build a new Hospital at a
new site (in Markdale)
After careful consideration, it was determined that building a
new hospital at a new location was the best solution. This plan
was selected for four reasons:
- New site construction is the least expensive option yet provides
the highest value.
- A new hospital allows for expansion of medical services while
also providing for the opportunity of future growth.
- Five acres of land has been made available by Grey County at
the Grey Gables long-term care facility for potential hospital
development.
- Demolition issues could be avoided and the current property
might be sold as a means of generating capital funds.
Plans have, therefore, been formalized and steps are now being
taken to build a new Centre Grey Hospital in Markdale.
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Redevelopment Option Cost Comparisons
Improvement Options Estimated Approximate Costs
New hospital, new site |
$23,851,576 |
Renovate hospital |
$23,892,708 |
New hospital, old site |
$25,471,824 |
The Future: What the New Hospital Will Look
Like
The new Centre Grey Hospital will be a 54,000 square foot, twenty-five-bed
hospital that includes twenty-four acute beds and one obstetric
bed. Every department will be new and built to the latest health
and safety codes as outlined by the Ministry of Health and Long
Term Care. Highlights of the new building will include:
- New clinic space, patient areas, and waiting rooms
- Streamlined admission, pre-op, and post-op treatment areas for
day surgery
- Improved patient privacy and healthier environment for staff
and patients
- Wheelchair accessible washrooms
- Space for families and patients to visit
- New diagnostic tools including a digital PACS system
- A new ambulatory care unit
- Modern patient rooms
- A new and accessible emergency unit located near the ambulance
entrance, laboratory, and radiology departments that provides
for fast entry, immediate treatment, and patient privacy.
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Benefits of the New Hospital
- Better Care – Improved and efficient work and healing
environment conducive to rapid service, new technology, and quality
care.
- Proper Design -– A hospital designed to meet the needs
of the community in keeping with the health care delivery system
of the day.
- Adequate Space – Room for patients and families to be
treated; ample waiting and lobby space.
- Attractive Environment – A new and modern facility that
is attractive, calming, and patient-friendly.
- Enhanced Physician Recruitment - A physician friendly facility
that will assist in the recruitment and retention of physicians,
healthcare practitioners, and visiting specialists.
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