Support local: Concession Street BIA backs Juravinski Hospital rebuild
A plan to rebuild and modernize large sections of Hamilton Health Sciences’ Juravinski Hospital is welcome news for the Concession Street businesses that are neighbours to this site, says Eva Martens, chair of the Concession Street Business Improvement Area (BIA).
Concession Street’s BIA is the oldest shopping district on the Hamilton mountain, and one of the largest in the city, stretching from Upper Wellington Street to just east of Upper Gage. Customers to Concession Street’s restaurants, shops and services have long included HHS staff, doctors, patients and family members. The rebuilding project is also expected to attract new customers, such as construction workers and others working on the project, says Martens.
“The redevelopment of Juravinski Hospital is really exciting for the BIA,” says Martens. “We’re looking forward to the influx of people coming in through the construction process, as well as welcoming the patients and hospital workers. I’m excited to see the redevelopment bring more foot traffic and increased revenue for our businesses here on Concession Street, and really excited for it to foster our long-term growth economically.”
Hamilton Health Sciences is committed to rebuilding the older sections of JH, which is a collection of buildings constructed over the last century and connected by a patchwork of hallways, walkways and tunnels.
We welcomed the opportunity to share our plans to modernize and rebuild sections of the hospital at June’s Concession Streetfest event.
The plan includes tearing down a large stretch of JH facing the escarpment – the M, L, H, E sections — and the F section which adjoins E, and replacing them with a state-of-the-art patient-care addition. The redevelopment of JH is the single-largest health infrastructure investment in our organization’s history and will also make JH the largest acute inpatient hospital in our region.
Hospital rooms in JH’s old wards are small, cramped, and mostly shared with up to four people to a room. On most units, there is only one shower for about 40 patients. Nursing stations are poorly located and inefficiently designed; there’s a shortage of storage space; elevators break down and some are even too small to fit stretchers. And none of these older sections have air conditioning.
These older wards offer a mix of cramped single, double and four-bed patient rooms. Some double rooms were originally built as singles, so they’re especially small, with little space for walkers, wheelchairs, medical equipment and for nurses to manoeuvre around patients’ beds.
The new sections, when built, will feature room for about 100 patients more than today, with 70 per cent more space for care. All patient rooms will be single occupancy, with private washrooms that include a shower and more room for walkers, wheelchairs, and other equipment.
Hallways will be larger and elevators will easily accommodate a stretcher. The new section will also feature modern ventilation, heating and air-conditioning systems.
The JH redevelopment project is expected to take place in phases, over several years. The longer we wait, the farther we will fall behind.
The Province of Ontario agrees that the oldest hospitals need to be replaced. But in order to get provincial investment, we need the City of Hamilton to financially commit to the project as well.
Add your name to a petition in support of a new Juravinski Hospital.
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