The Wallaceburg site of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance has been a hub of activity this week.
Members of the hospital’s WeRCKHA staff engagement council, comprised of staff, physicians, volunteers, and patient advisors, met in Wallaceburg for what CEO Lori Marshall calls an unofficial kickoff of broader consultation of the hospital’s revitalization plans.
“Everybody, regardless of where they work, came to the Wallaceburg site,” Marshall explains. “They toured the existing facility, got an in-depth look at the plans, gave feedback with respect to what they were thinking in terms of things we need to pay attention to for the new site.”
Marshall says feedback covered areas such as the layout of the lobby and setup of different rooms.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring people who don’t normally necessarily work at that site to come have a look and say what have we thought about this or that.”
Further engagement with staff and physicians who work at the Wallaceburg site, as well as greater community consultations, will be held in the near future.
In the meantime, Health Alliance officials continue talks with the province over funding for the revitalization.
The full cost of the project is estimated at $41 million, with 10% of construction costs to be provided by the local community.
Among the planned upgrades to the new wing of the hospital is moving the emergency department and medical beds, new diagnostic imaging, new laboratory, and rehabilitation area.
Marshall points to the Our Hospital Our Future website as the best way for community members to keep up to date on happenings at the Wallaceburg site. CLICK HERE for more details.