A patient’s powerful case for rebuilding HHS Juravinski Hospital
Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) patient Jeffry Thomas knows from first-hand experience how frustrating it can be to receive care in old, outdated sections of our Juravinski Hospital (JH).
Thomas is a quadriplegic patient with over 40 years of experience in and out of the hospital system. During his most recent stay at JH, which lasted for about one month on-and-off, he had issues with the outmoded environment.
“The staff was able to pull it together but it took some time,” says Thomas, adding that it took two to three weeks to get access to a hospital room with a lift to help move him, a pressure-relief mattress to help prevent bed sores, and enough space for him to move around in using his chair.
“I think if they had all those things there in the first place it would be a much smoother operation,” says Thomas.
His experience is one of many examples showing why HHS 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.
HHS plans to tear down a large stretch of JH facing the escarpment – the M, L, H, E sections — and the F section which adjoins E, and replace 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.
Jeffry Thomas shares his experience receiving care in an old section of JH:
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 be able to 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.
