Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Pembroke Regional Hospital Given Ministry Approval to Upgrade its Surgical Facilities
PEMBROKE – The Pembroke Regional Hospital has received some great news! Following the opening of four new state-of-the-art surgical suites in the Ottawa Valley Health and Wellness Centre two years ago, PRH has now been approved for the planning and implementation of a capital project designed to improve its other surgical facilities, including significant upgrades to its central sterile reprocessing (CSR) area.
“Our surgical facilities in Tower A are, for the most part, in original space constructed in the 1950s and this project will bring up to current standards our day surgery and inpatient surgical space, our CSR facilities and various other areas which support our surgical program,” said Hospital President and CEO Pierre Noel.
The early approval by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care means that the Hospital can proceed through the capital planning and approval stages for these upgrades with the certainty that they will be funded on a cost-shared basis with the province once the Ministry has agreed on the scope of the work, Mr. Noel said. The project will be funded through the Ministry's Small Hospital Capital Pool for projects valued at less than $10 million. Projects of this nature are typically cost shared on a 90% Ministry funded and 10% local hospital share basis.
“We anticipate that the planning phase will take several months, followed by open tendering and construction so we are still in the range of 24 to 36 months away from full completion but that isn’t really all that long when you consider that these improvements will serve us well for decades to come,” he said.
In the approval letter to the Hospital, the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Deb Matthews, said she fully recognizes the importance of this project to the community.
Enhancements to the surgical facilities will not only improve the environment for patients and staff but will also allow for increased surgical volumes at PRH which will help reduce wait times and allow for the provision of additional services close to home, particularly those related to orthopedic and cancer surgeries.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Carolyn Levesque, Public Affairs and Communications Coordinator
(613) 732-3675, ext. 6165 / carolyn.levesque@pemreghos.org
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