Brand new hospital swings its doors open

A new era in healthcare begins today (Nov. 20, 2011) in Woodstock -- the opening of a brand new hospital.
The grand olde facility on Riddell Street closes its doors forever. According to the website www.wgh.on.ca, parts of the current medical facility date back to 1895. There have been many additions, renovations and facelifts over the years, but the era of a hospital fronting on Riddell and calling the block of Brant, Wellington and Vincent streets home is now over.
Under the 'Media Centre' headline on the wgh.on.ca homepage you can find a direct link to a terrific informative 46-page insert produced recently by the Woodstock Sentinel-Review (S-R), which did a very effective job introducing the various departments and amenities to be provided at the new Woodstock Hospital, which swings its doors open today for the first time with its first patient transfer scheduled at 6.am.
The new hospital has the capacity for 178 beds plus the dozens of out-patient services available. According to a Sentinel (S-R) story on Friday, approximately 80 patients will be part of the move today.
The shape of the building is interesting with an almost 5-prong design with the largest area for administration and emergency (ER), while the four arms also have specific uses. In the middle is a courtyard.
The location is important as it is in Woodstock's south for quick access on 401 for transportation purposes. The Juliana Drive / Athlone Avenue area has changed significantly in recent years when you also factor in the new Woodingford Lodge retirement home and residential subdivisions.
The list of people making the new hospital possible is extremely long from management to politicians, donors to fundraisers, doctors to nurses, construction crews to logistical planners.
The Woodstock Hospital Foundation board, and Building The Vision campaign (wghfoundation.ca; 519-421-4226) raised millions -- more than $25 million.
Hospital CEO and president Natasa Veljovic has been tying together all the loose strings throughout the process. Among those from the current hospital with a significant role in the entire transition has been vice president of services Perry Lang.
Since I write here, I can certainly do some name dropping (Not a thorough list). I think of Glen McDonald, the late David Lowes, Carole Wilson, Ed Down, Bill Carrothers, John McDougall, Harvey Hunt, Vicki Davey, Bill Mackesy, Paul LeRoy, Terry Thompson, Ann Ash, Sheri Knott, Diane Werby, Brent VanParys, Wilma Boughtflower, Ken Whiteford, Don Reeder, Brad Janssen, and many many more people who have sat on committees or balanced the books to organize the raising of dollars (Isabelle Baird, Jan Matwey, Donna Harcourt, Evelyn Barnett, Barbara Blott, Louise Tuffnail, Jean Caskey, . . . ) and keeping the idea of a brand new hospital alive for many years until the reality of this day.
Even though I'm a proud Royal LePage Realtor, I recognize the efforts of Century 21 locally and its annual Golden Gala benefit which set a goal, reached it and surpassed it. Funds have been earmarked to this project from the remarkable volunteer efforts of the hospital auxiliary, along with a tip-of-the-iceberg partial list of quilt sales, auctions, and walk-a-thons/races (Dairy Capital Run).
The hospital is also 'home' for more than 150 volunteers, who assist in various capacities.
Substantial donations arrived from many families -- Rogers (Communications), Wettlaufer, Jasinski, Lockwood, and others.
Initial provincial approval for a new hospital in Woodstock was granted way back in 2000, I believe.
The frustration of the process going forward from there must have been tremendous at times as the plan was to construct a brand new location, but government changes at the provincial level and many other factors resulted in delays. At the same time, how many bandaids and braces could be put on the old hospital to keep it operating.
I enjoyed one quote in particular in the S-R insert by Ed Down, chair of the current board of trust: "We have the building, the equipment and the room to adjust and evolve in an ever-changing environment. We are ready and able to chart the course for first class health care in Oxford County."
With London-based EllisDon as the main builder, the new hospital, which I toured on a Doors Open Oxford day, is a stunning jump into the future for our area. The consortium also includes Honeywell with a 30-year management contract as part of Integrated Team Solutions.
Construction teams included Stantec Engineering for grading, roads and parking, plus Parkin Architects, unique financing through Fengate, and of course Infrastructure Ontario.
Veljovic said it this way in the S-R: "It took a talented team of professionals and construction trades people to deliver what we consider the best designed and best built hospital in Ontario."
For the first time ever, Woodstock has its own MRI (diagnostic imaging) equipment. This is wonderful news for Oxford, but also good news for the district as it will lower the ever-increasing demand on London and other neighbouring community hospitals. The Siemen's developed and manufactured MRI machine will eventually be used by more than 3,000 patients per year.
The previous Woodstock hospital had a CT scanner. A brand new CT scanner was installed in the new hospital which is the new generation of technology -- 256 slices of information gathered per rotation. Wow!
The S-R report stated that the final building cost will amount to approximately $160 million for the 350,000 sq ft facility. Overall, there will be up to 178 inpatient beds, 23 ER rooms, an adjoining but separate out-patient department, five larger operating rooms (previous hospital had four), as many as 12 dialysis chairs (up from six), state-of-the-art obstetrics, expanded mental health department, a larger pharmacy and lab services, and 600 new computers.
A statement by Dr Pongrac Kocsis -- president of the medical staff -- said it best, noting this facility will attract more health-care professionals to Woodstock.
Also important news is that some services offered off-site in the past, will now be housed at the hospital, including speech therapy (impediments and other delays), which was several city blocks away at the medical office at the renovated old Princess St School. Nutrition and diabetes education will now be in the hospital and not elsewhere, such as the Vance building.
While I was steeping tea, I sifted through the S-R section quite a bit and must congratulate Heather Rivers on her department-by-department analysis.
Finally, naturally the cafeteria services include Tim Hortons, and with regular fare from Morrison On The Go.
Mark Schadenberg
Sales Representative
Royal LePage Triland
(519) 537-1553
Thinking of a move? New construction or re-sale? Call me about real estate in Oxford County.