Category: Update

Behind-the-scenes look at preparing for the WLMH CT scanner

The secret is out: West Niagara will have a brand new CT scanner in a few months! The machine has been selected and purchased, thanks in part to the WLMH Foundation and the landmark MES agreement HHS signed with Siemens.

Now comes the heavy lifting, literally, preparing the room to house the machine. We caught up with Diego Gomez, the project manager at HHS overseeing this work, to tell us how they’re turning an old office space into a modern diagnostic imaging suite.

First and foremost, site selection within the building.

“The team looked at the entire building and decided for a number of reasons that a former office space in the basement would be the best location,” he said. “The Ministry of Health has specific requirements for how the room needs to be set up. There are also physical space constraints in the existing building. The CT suite will be located across from the elevator, providing an adequate patient/stretcher flow from and to the Emergency Department, exterior access and in-patient units on floors above.”

FUN FACT: in hospitals, office space is called “soft space” which means it can be easily adapted for different purposes. Unlike “hard space” like an Operating Room for example, which comes with specific technology, fixed equipment and air handling requirements.

Now, the demo can start. Actually, not just yet.

“Given the age of the building, accurate as-built drawings were not easy to come by. So we had to do a lot of testing, specifically of the floor. It turns out the concrete slab is thick enough to support the weight of the machine and will withstand vibration generated by the machine,” said Gomez.

FUN FACT: CT machines weigh more than 2,000 lbs. The largest machines can weigh more than 6,000 lbs.

Ok, NOW the demo can start…which it has and the team is making considerable progress.

“They’ve taken the space down to the to the perimeter walls. The contractors have put up the new partitions, installed steel studs, ‘roughed in’ all the electrical, plumbing, air handling and gas lines, similar to a home renovation. Once it’s inspected, they will wrap the walls and ceiling with lead sheets, which is required for a CT as is produces radiation. The lead contains the radiation within the room, which is essential for safety. Then they will add the drywall boards and finish the entire space,” Gomez continued.

FUN FACT: Constructing a CT suite requires many sign offs at different stages of the process. This includes building permits from the municipality for the construction items, CT manufacturer requirements for the room, Ministry approval of the architectural drawings and lead plan, third-party inspections of oxygen and airflow, and final testing of all components…including the lead…before it can open.

The suite itself will have a few different areas, including a waiting room, patient change room and washroom, a holding area for pre and post procedure, and a radiologist’s office. This is in addition to the control room where the technicians operate the machine and conduct the scans, and the CT room itself where the machine lives.

“The machine will be the main fixture in the room. There will also be some technology, including a ceiling-mounted patient lift to assist patients in accessing the table. There will be a camera and intercom so the patient and technician can maintain contact throughout the procedure. The control room will be separated by a radiation-resistant window, where the techs can safely monitor the patient,” he said.

The CT requires ice-cold water for it to operate. A chiller unit will be installed on the exterior of the building outside of the suite. CT machines are also power suckers.

“We tested all the power and verified that the supply is sufficient. We’re tying into the diesel generators which were recently installed at the site through the infrastructure upgrades to connect to emergency back-up power if there’s ever a short,” noted Gomez.

LAST FUN FACT…we promise: renovating in old buildings can often present unknown and unexpected surprises. When preparing the room for the CT, the team shut all the water valves to the area, but water continued to flow. The team ended up freezing the water in the pipes with liquid nitrogen, allowing them to install new shut off valves.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak on C-Ward at WLMH, obstetrics services will be temporarily redirected to Niagara Health, starting Friday, January 29 at 3 pm.

This redirect is anticipated to be in place for two weeks.

With C-Ward closed to new admissions, the site has lost 50 per cent of its bed capacity. In order to keep the Emergency Department functioning and supporting the community during this period, the obstetrical unit will be temporarily used for medical patient admissions.

For families expecting to deliverer at WLMH during this time, please contact Angela Leslie at 905-945-2253 ext 11436 or speak with your obstetrical care provider for further information. We appreciate your understanding as we work to keep all patients in our care safe.

As always, we thank our staff, physicians and partners at Niagara Health for their ongoing flexibility, professionalism and support of our patients.

Earlier this month, happy parents Connie and Mark Sandercock welcomed their second baby into the world!

Baby Colton was the first baby born at WLMH in 2021.

Here’s the full story!

Following up from this post in November, obstetrics services at WLMH will resume next week, starting January 12, from Tuesday morning to Friday afternoon. We can now confirm that outside of these hours, women in labour or requiring assessment will be redirected to deliver at the St. Catharines site of Niagara Health (NH).

This follows the model we had in place prior to the operating rooms being temporarily closed for renovations. 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.

Scheduled c-sections and gynecology care will continue at WLMH as it has since the operating rooms reopened in September.

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.

The redevelopment of West Lincoln Memorial Hospital (WLMH) is taking another step forward as Infrastructure Ontario and Hamilton Health Sciences start the process to find a design-build team for the project.

Issuing a request for qualifications (RFQ) is the initial opportunity for prospective teams to express their interest in bidding for the construction contract.

The RFQ process narrows down the list of teams to those who have the design and construction experience, as well as the financial capacity to deliver a project of this size and complexity.

Shortlisted teams will be invited to respond to a request for proposals, or RFP, which is expected to be released mid-2021.

“This is a significant milestone toward redeveloping West Lincoln Memorial Hospital. In less than a year, this project has progressed from initial planning stages to finding a builder for the new hospital. We’re thankful for the ongoing commitment of our government partners, the community and our team who keep this project on track and moving quickly toward the finish line.” Rob MacIsaac, President & CEO, Hamilton Health Sciences

“This is great news for the continued progress towards the new hospital the residents of Grimsby and West Niagara deserve. Because of the tireless efforts of so many within the hospital and broader community, the new hospital has moved forward rapidly, and I am confident we will see shovels in the ground as soon as possible. We can’t forget, this started back at square one in 2018, and the project has seen remarkable progress in two years. My thanks goes to all the citizens, frontline workers, administration, and advisory groups that have been involved in this process. This step is good news towards the selection of the construction firm which will build this hospital. I will keep working with our local community to make this happen.” Sam Oosterhoff, MPP, Niagara West

This week, the initial plan to resume obstetrics services at WLMH was shared with site staff and physicians.

Starting January 12, 2021, mothers in labour will be able to deliver their babies from Tuesday morning until Friday afternoon at WLMH. Births outside of these hours will be delivered at another nearby hospital. Those details are still being worked out and will be shared as soon as they’re confirmed.

The service resumption will be assessed on an ongoing basis to determine if and how it can be sustained and expanded. Factors which will be considered include the availability of staffing and the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in the community. The goal is to build the service up to provide as much coverage as possible, as long as its sustainable from a staffing and resourcing perspective to do so.

“Obstetrics services at WLMH are very important to families in West Niagara, and it is very good news that safety upgrades at WLMH funded by the Government of Ontario will enable the program to continue. We’re grateful to our staff and physicians who have made this program resumption possible, and to our partners for their support during this period. Recruitment is ongoing for additional operating room staff needed to expand the services in a sustainable manner,” said Dr. Michael Stacey, EVP Academic and Chief Medical Executive, Hamilton Health Sciences.

Obstetrics services offered at WLMH were temporarily redirected earlier this year to allow for critical safety upgrades in the site’s operating rooms. Functional operating rooms and sufficient operating room staffing are required to provide a safe environment for after-hours and overnight births, in the event that emergency surgical procedures are needed during a delivery.

Scheduled c-section births have been taking place at WLMH since the operating rooms reopened in September.

Building a hospital takes a lot of experts. We got the best of the best for the WLMH rebuild. Here’s Bart letting us know who’s on the team.

Got a question for Bart? Send it here

You may have noticed a drilling rig on the WLMH property recently. “Geotechnical drilling” is a normal part of the process for infrastructure development. Essentially, the team is taking underground samples to get a sense of the soil type and bedrock depth. This will help when determining the best type of foundation for the building. They also installed ground water monitoring wells to understand the ground water conditions, including its purity and flow.

This drilling will likely continue for the next few weeks.

Unfortunately, no dinosaur bones have been found during this process…yet.

The parking lot at WLMH is being resurfaced as part of the regular maintenance schedule to support safety for everyone. Last fall, the initial phase of this work was completed. The next and final phase is the repair and resurfacing of the main parking lot. This work will begin on May 4, 2020 and take place Monday to Friday between 7 am and 5 pm. Weather permitting, work may also occur on some weekends. During this phase, additional lighting will be installed to enhance staff safety. Access to the Emergency Department and designated pedestrian entrances will continue.

All Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) parking infrastructure, including the WLMH parking lot, is managed by the Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) Volunteer Association (VA). The HHS VA funds all necessary parking lot repairs and maintenance. The resurfacing project is 100% funded by the HHS VA.

Thank you for your patience while this work is being completed.

The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) causes a respiratory infection and spreads mainly from person to person. Those with a weakened immune system are more at risk, which may be the case for older people and those with chronic diseases. The first presumptive case of this infection in Ontario was identified on January 25, 2020. Since then, the World Health Organization has characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. We are taking precautions at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) to ensure the safety of our staff, patients, and community.

More information related to COVID-19 is available here:
Hamilton Health Sciences hospital information
Niagara Region Public Health

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In January, HHS announced an exciting partnership with Siemens to procure, maintain and renew our diagnostic imaging equipment. A CT scanner for WLMH is a priority and we are pleased to be moving forward with this work. Read more here.

Planning for the new WLMH is moving quickly, so we pulled together a short document to highlight the key features which will be in the new building.

This information is taken from a few sources, most importantly the letter from the Ministry of Health granting us approval to move forward to Stage 2 planning (and here is Infrastructure Ontario’s 2019 Market Update).

Readers are welcome to share this document with your friends, families and networks. Please also sign up for our monthly newsletter which will include important updates like this as we continue moving toward a rebuilt WLMH.