Province announces cash injection at Hotel Dieu, KGH and Providence Care

You wouldn’t think on a typical summer day that some surgeries at KGH could be postponed. But hospital officials say the ageing H-VAC system can’t cope with the hot, humid weather and that has an impact in the OR according to Dr David Pichora, the CEO of the Kingston Health Sciences Centre.

“If the humidity levels get above a certain level we worry about sterility. So it’s not a fantasy issue. It can be a real issue.” explained Dr Pichora.

But the days of cancelled surgeries due to high humidity could be numbered after the province announced nearly ten million dollar cash injection from the province, money that’s earmarked for a variety of repairs and upgrades at KGH, Hotel Dieu and Providence Care hospitals.

The work projects include repairing roofs, replacing windows, heating and air-conditioning systems, fire alarms and backup generators.

Kingston and the Islands MPP Sophie Kiwala made the announcement at Hotel Dieu hospital on behalf of the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Dr Eric Hoskins.

“We need to put that funding into infrastructure. It will help the people who work in the hospitals and it will help nurses and doctors be more comfortable and generally increase the level of health safety,” said Kiwala.

Words echoed by Dr Hoskins, “These repairs and upgrades are crucial to ensuring all patients get the help they need now and in the future.”

Providence Care is getting funding to improve its new site currently closed down, St. Mary’s of the Lake.

“As part of our commitment to Sisters of Providence, our founders, we have to return the building in reasonable condition, so during the time that patients were there we started some work and this is the completion of that work.” explains Cathy Szabo, the CEO of Providence Care.

Meantime it remains unclear what the Sisters plan to do with St Mary’s once its fixed up.

Hotel Dieu’s share of the funding is to build a new back ramp at the Johnson Street entrance.

The cash comes from a 7 billion dollar “booster shot” to health care, contained in the recent provincial budget and will begin flowing to all three sites immediately.