Surgeries, procedures resuming March 21

Birthing services to resume at WLMH on April 19

Please note the following update on the status of scheduled care and obstetrical services at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital (WLMH).

Scheduled Care

Starting Monday, March 21, scheduled procedures and surgical activity will resume at WLMH. This follows the latest provincial directive which allows hospitals to reintroduce procedures and services that were paused at the height of the omicron wave of the pandemic. Surgical teams which were deployed to support other hard hit areas during the most recent wave have returned to the site. Providers will be in touch with patients to schedule their procedures.

Obstetrical Care

Obstetrical services will return to WLMH site as of Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 a.m. The program will return to the same model that was previously in place, with birthing services available around-the-clock from Tuesday morning to Friday afternoon. Scheduled deliveries will progress as determined by the patient’s care plan.

Temporarily redirecting these services in December was a last resort, and is not ideal from a service continuity perspective. However, it was necessary at the time to preserve enough bed capacity to keep the Emergency Department open during consecutive COVID outbreaks at the site. We are well aware of the impacts that extended periods of service redirect have on our patients and people, and sincerely thank everyone for their efforts during this time.

COVID-19 Update: New outbreak declared

C-Ward, ICU outbreaks declared over

Today, HHS Infection, Prevention and Control (IPAC), in consultation with Niagara Public Health, has declared a COVID-19 outbreak on B Ward at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital (WLMH). Less than five patients have tested positive for COVID-19 in relation to the outbreak.

Additional patient and staff point prevalence testing is underway. The earliest this outbreak can be declared over is January 12, 2022.

The previous outbreaks on C Ward and ICU were declared over on December 29. C Ward is open to admissions.

Obstetrics services resuming October 5

Obstetrics services at WLMH will resume starting October 5, supporting deliveries from Tuesday morning to Friday afternoon.

Outside of these hours of operation, women in labour or requiring assessment will be redirected to deliver at the St. Catharines site of Niagara Health (NH).

This is the same model that was in place prior to the provincial directive earlier this year which temporarily paused scheduled care to allow hospital staff and physicians to support clinical areas hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our obstetricians and family physicians will retain their privileges at both hospitals, allowing continuity of care for patients. In situations where WLMH physicians are not able to attend a delivery, the patient will be under the care of the NH obstetrician on call


Midwifery care will be provided at NH only.

EXPECTING FAMILIES: this handout is for you.


Once again, the obstetrics service resumption will be assessed on an ongoing basis to determine if and how it can be extended. The goal is to provide as many hours of obstetrics services as possible, as long as its sustainable from a staffing and resourcing perspective to do so.

Hamilton Health Sciences is grateful for our ongoing partnership with NH and its team who continue to make this service arrangement possible until obstetrics services can fully resume at WLMH. We also appreciate the flexibility and professionalism our staff and physicians have demonstrated during this period of transition.

What’s Up @ WLMH: May 2020

Hospital services starting to gradually resume in Ontario

Earlier this week, Hamilton Health Sciences’ (HHS) plan to gradually resume clinical services was approved by Ontario Health. Many services, including surgeries and other procedures, were paused during the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s the message we shared with our staff.

This approval means we will now start gradually booking appointments for some procedures, prioritizing care for patients based on the severity and urgency of their medical needs. Patients will be contacted directly by the hospital or their doctor about the timing of their care, when an appointment for them is available.

West Niagara residents will continue to receive procedures at other HHS sites. The operating rooms at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital are undergoing critical safety upgrades and are scheduled to re-open this fall.

We will provide further updates as this process moves forward, but you can also stay up-to-date here.

Progress on important safety upgrades at WLMH

Completed:

  • Laboratory upgrades, like electrical, lighting and millwork
  • Parking lot resurfacing completed; lighting is being installed

Upcoming:

  • Work on Endoscopy Reprocessing starting June 1
  • Operating Room/Intensive Care Unit work starting June 15

West Niagara municipal Councils show continued support for the new WLMH

This month, local municipalities (Grimsby, Lincoln and West Lincoln) each passed a motion of commitment to the local share financing required for the construction of a new hospital. This commitment is a critical part of the hospital planning process. We thank each of the Councils and Mayors for their continued support of this important project.

During the coming weeks, staff and physicians at WLMH will help develop detailed plans for the new hospital. Their input will help to ensure that that future health care service delivery needs are translated into the design and construction of the new hospital by providing clinical, technical, operational, programmatic, and equipment information.

Check out our newly released feature sheets to help keep you informed about the road ahead. Find out how new hospitals are financed in Ontario and the government’s process for building new infrastructure.

What’s Up @ WLMH: April 2020

Projects continue during COVID-19 response

Teams across Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) have worked hard to support the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following provincial direction, this includes decreasing outpatient care, diagnostic services and non-emergency surgery, combined with moving as many non-acute patients as possible to community settings to free up hospital beds.

WLMH has played an important role in this COVID-19 capacity planning and preparations while maintaining important acute services for patients and the community. Staff and physicians have demonstrated flexibility, resilience and professionalism during this evolving situation. 

Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, progress continues to be made on infrastructure projects and new hospital planning. 

Designing a new WLMH

While staff, physicians and hospital leaders continue to focus on the response to COVID-19, plans remain on track to meet government submission timelines.

HHS’ Capital Planning team continues to work with Infrastructure Ontario, Ministry of Health, consultants, and other partners, to advance plans for the new hospital.  As soon as it is safe and practical to do so, staff and physician user groups will come together to provide input on key components of the stage 2 submission. The ongoing leadership provided by provincial and local government partners to support this work is appreciated.

Contractors hitting milestones

Visitor restrictions in the hospital have impacted some internal work associated with infrastructure projects. However, outside the building, contractors are reaching project milestones, including:

•    Commissioning the cooling tower 
•    Completing the wiring needed for the second generator
•    Planning for lab upgrades
•    Laying the concrete pad for the operating room(OR)/endoscopy area air handling unit, to be delivered on May 1, 2020. 

Work also continues with the contractor to review and adapt plans for renovations, including OR and endoscopy.

CT scanner selected 

The clinical team has completed the review process to select the type of CT scanner that will best serve the community. A consultant has been hired to design the space for the machine and work continues to move forward. Once plans are approved by the Ministry, and other infrastructure and OR renovations are complete, construction for the CT scanner suite will begin.

Thank you for your support!


We’re so grateful for our supportive community which continues to stand with our staff and physicians during this challenging time. 

What’s Up @ WLMH: COVID-19

We are taking precautions at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) to ensure the safety of our staff, physicians, patients, families and community. More information related to COVID-19 is available here:

Hamilton Health Sciences hospital information

Niagara Region Public Health
Hospital access

Visitor guidelines have changed and we have moved to a no-visitor policy with very few exceptions. Based on these guidelines, infrastructure work at WLMH, with the exception of some limited outside work, has been placed on hold. 

Patient care

 The Ministry of Health has mandated all health care facilities to postpone all non-urgent elective activity, including surgeries and non-urgent clinic visits.

Some patients receiving non-urgent scheduled care may access care by phone or virtually

Elective surgeries are being postponed and perioperative services at West Lincoln are temporarily closed. This will support additional patient care capacity and availability of health care professionals in the weeks ahead.  West Lincoln patients requiring urgent surgical procedures will receive care at the appropriate alternative hospital.  Patients will be notified by their surgeon if their surgery is deferred. 

Planning for a new WLMH

The Capital Planning team continues to move forward with planning for the new WLMH. Kick-off meetings took place earlier this month. Work led by non-clinical team members continues to move ahead. We remain committed to moving forward, recognizing COVID-19 presents an evolving situation and patient care requirements remain our top priority. 

Follow us on social media

We’re sharing timely updates and shareable content on our social media channels, like this “five small acts” campaign, which is linked at the handles below.
Twitter: @HamHealthSci
Instagram: HamiltonHealthSciences
Facebook: @HamHealthSci