St. B hospital aims for ER transformation

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This article was published 21/09/2021 (1627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ONE of Winnipeg’s three hospital emergency departments is to undergo a major transformation in the coming years.

St. Boniface Hospital hosted a virtual town hall Tuesday to display its designs for a new ER and gather feedback from Manitobans.

“We know that when our community has a positive experience, we feel proud, and when our community does not have a great experience, we want to do better,” Martine Bouchard, president and chief executive officer, said during the presentation.

“We believe that the redevelopment of the emergency department reflects our better.”

The current plans — which aren’t final — depict a new addition lining Tache Avenue. Parts of the current hospital it will connect to are to be renovated.

The main floor will be broken into sections, including designated spaces for mental health, resuscitation, triage, care initiation and diagnostic imaging.

Large elevators will transport patients from the bottom floor, which may house 10 ambulance bays, to the main and second floors. The top level has a corridor to the cath lab and intensive care unit.

“(The elevators give) us really great access for the cath lab, so patients that need to go directly into that surgical procedure can do so with very quick access,” said Jerald Peters, principal of Ft3 Architects, who created the designs.

Ambulances will access the bottom floor via heated and covered ramps.

The proposed St. B emergency department will, hopefully, reduce wait times and lengths of stay, according to presenters.

In 2019, St. Boniface Hospital’s emergency sector had 47,785 visits. Simulations project its 2029 emergency department visits at nearly 59,000, as the population ages. The number jumps to more than 70,000 in 2039.

The new waiting room will be roughly four times larger and able to fit 85 people, Peters said.

The project, which encompasses 86,200 square feet of new construction and 18,600 sq. ft. of renovations, is scheduled to be complete mid-2025.

“The timeline will almost certainly change,” Bouchard said, adding a number of factors, including COVID-19 pandemic-induced supply chain issues, will cause delays.

The total cost — an estimated $94 million — will also likely change “as the (department’s) design, as well as the landscape, continue to evolve.”

The goal is to keep the current emergency department open during construction. However, there will be disruptions because of the project’s scale. Parking will also be reduced.

The finished product, by current plans, will include an “improved” south parking lot, according to Peters. An outdoor green space with picnic tables is also in the drawings.

At the town hall, project leaders were looking for suggestions on how to continue community contact. Attendees suggested website updates and regular emails.

More than 50 people attended the public town hall, and leaders consulted with hospital staff last week.

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca