The end of 2023 marks a special milestone at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital (WLMH): the 10-year anniversary of the amalgamation with Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS).
The strength of this partnership over the past decade has been pivotal in elevating health care for the community of West Niagara and across the surrounding region. While our collaboration dates back more than 25 years, amalgamation has allowed us to grow stronger and more resilient together. It has also made for a promising future of care that will serve many generations to come.
Together, we have achieved many significant advancements to WLMH to better serve our community. A few highlights over the last 10 years include:
The expansion of critical services to bring care closer to home for West Niagara. WLMH has considerably expanded its programs and services to address local and regional health priorities. These expansions include our surgical program, which has evolved from a single-surgeon program to a multi-specialty team. Our patients now also have access to life-changing and life-saving testing and imaging, including endoscopies, mammograms and the site’s first-ever Computed Tomography (CT) scanner.
More than $10M of investment in facility upgrades and modernization. The past decade has seen significant community support and focused investment to modernize the existing WLMH and the systems and equipment our staff use daily. Some of these enhancements include the addition of new medical equipment; the renovation of various areas, most notably the emergency and obstetrics departments; and the implementation of a modernized patient information system to ensure full-integration across HHS sites.
Planning and building the new hospital. The past 12 months have produced tremendous progress toward rebuilding WLMH. Construction remains on track and the new hospital is slated to open in mid-2025. Most recently, we celebrated an important construction milestone with the Foundation, gathering friends and supporters to sign the final beam needed in the building’s framework.
Your support has helped make these advancements possible. Community generosity over the past decade has allowed us to build the future of health care we have all dreamed of in West Niagara. For this, we are very grateful.
We have made great strides in the first decade together, and this is just beginning of our journey. Health care will continue to evolve; our patients’ needs will change and together, we will continue to pursue the mission of providing the best care for all.
On behalf of HHS, we wish you and your loved ones a healthy and happy holiday season. We look forward to more progress in 2024.
Rob MacIsaac
President & CEO
Hamilton Health Sciences
Leslie Gillies
VP, Nursing, Practice & Education, & Community Health, & Executive Site Lead, WLMH
Hamilton Health Sciences