Ontario government pledges $2M to Hamilton Health Sciences

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Published October 8, 2019 at 10:28 pm

The provincial government announced their intention to provide funding to several hospitals in the Niagara region to ensure they meet health care standards.

The provincial government announced their intention to provide funding to several hospitals in the Niagara region to ensure they meet health care standards.

In order to prevent hallway health care—when people are receiving treatment literally in the hallway as opposed to a hospital room due to lack of resources—the government has announced they will be providing funding of up to $2 million to Hamilton Health Sciences — West Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

The funding is intended to assist with urgent repairs needed to allow the hospital to return to full capacity as soon as possible.

“This is a very important day for patients and families in the West Niagara region,” Sam Oosterhoff, parliamentary assistant to the minister of education and MPP for Niagara West, said in a news release.

“Once renovations are completed, West Lincoln Memorial Hospital will have greater capacity to provide patients and families with access to care in a space that can better meet the needs of a growing community, until the new hospital is built,” Oosterhoff added.

The renovations are expected to be completed by 2020, and include: renovations to the operating room suite and endoscopy cleaning facilities; and upgrades to the elevator, emergency generator, fire alarm system, nurse call systems, cooling and heating, plumbing and electrical systems, and others.

“We are grateful for the strong commitment of the Government of Ontario to safe patient care and the rebuilding of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital,” Rob MacIsaac, president and CEO of Hamilton Health Sciences, said in the same news release.

“The investments being announced today for WLMH, will enable critical infrastructure upgrades that are needed to maintain services safely until we can open the doors on a new hospital. We are working together to rebuild WLMH and ensure much-needed local hospital services are here for decades to come,” he added.

The project is part of the government’s plan to invest $27 billion over the next 10 years in hospital infrastructure projects across the province, including adding 3,000 new hospital beds.

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