It’s time to rebuild Juravinski Hospital
Imagine health care in the early 1900s. Medicine has come a long way since then, but some of the buildings that make up Hamilton Health Sciences’ (HHS) Juravinski Hospital still echo this distant past. In 2012, we transformed sections of Juravinski Hospital into state-of-the-art spaces. Our mission isn’t complete. We need to bring the oldest sections into the 21st century, ensuring our patients and teams have access to the very best health facilities for decades to come.
We’ve come a long way. Our buildings haven’t.
As a provincially-leading centre, our patients and teams deserve and expect excellent care in state-of-the-art facilities. We have care excellence covered, but many of our buildings are in need of modernization.
- Patient rooms are too small with little to no room to accommodate visitors and modern medical equipment.
- Multiple patients are being cared for in rooms that were designed for just one.
- Former waiting areas and rehab spaces are now being used as patient rooms. Some of these spaces also double as staff offices. There simply are not enough rooms for the number of patients needing care.
- Washrooms are small and shared, making accessibility and privacy a challenge. On one unit, there is one shower for 38 patients.
- There is not enough storage space on inpatient units, so equipment is often stored in hallways or on another floor.
- Elevators break down often and some are too small to fit patient stretchers.
- Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and air filtration systems are in need of updating.
New spaces, new possibilities
The new building will add more than 100 new patient beds and provide 70 per cent more space for care. Our community will benefit from all single-patient rooms – the gold standard for infection prevention and control – with more room for washrooms, equipment, and visitors, plus larger hallways, storage areas, elevators, and common areas.
Along with patient benefits, there are environmental benefits and reduced costs to operating a newer building. There will be improvements in heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems resulting in increased comfort and safety for our patients, families and staff.
Building a healthier tomorrow
The rebuild is about more than bricks and mortar. Hamilton is projected to grow slightly faster than the provincial average. Census Canada projects that Hamilton will see between 50 and 70 per cent growth in the number of seniors from now until 2046. As the population continues to grow and age, the demand for health care will also continue to grow.
Support us in rebuilding the Juravinski Hospital of the future
HHS has an ambitious plan to ensure the communities we serve have access to state-of-the-art hospitals for decades to come. Our new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital is set to open in Grimsby in 2025, with redevelopment at Juavinski Hospital set to begin in 2028. The support of our community will play an important role in making this happen.
New hospitals in Ontario are funded through a cost-sharing agreement between the province and the hospital and its community. The province pays for 90 per cent of the construction costs. Local share is the hospital and municipal portion – this will cover 10 per cent of construction costs, as well as 100 per cent of furniture, fixtures and equipment (beds, surgical equipment, stretchers, syringes, heart monitors, etc.), and parking.
Our plan to rebuild the oldest parts of Juravinski Hospital is an investment in the health and future of our community. As the needs of our community grow, so does the need to rebuild.
In the coming months, we’ll share more information about our plan.
Visit rebuildjuravinskihospital.ca to stay in the loop and sign up for HHS’ e-newsletter for updates on this and other exciting news at HHS.