With pictures of horses on the closet, and bouncy chairs and multi-coloured furniture in the waiting room, the Moncton Hospital’s new Pediatric Ambulatory Care Clinic sure doesn’t look like a typical hospital.
The Moncton Hospital officially opened its new pediatric care clinic Tuesday, aimed at enhancing health care services provided to sick children.
The new child-friendly unit will allow more sick kids to be treated as outpatients instead of having to be treated in the hospital, which Dr. Rody Canning says can be a frightening experience for the whole family.
“We want to stop having to admit children to hospital for various investigations. We want to be able to treat them on an outpatient basis. It is better for the child and it is way better for the family,” Canning said.
Canning says the new clinic will improve quality of life for pediatric patients and their families, while decreasing the number of visits to the Emergency Room.
More than 3,200 children a year attend the various pediatric clinics to deal with various health issues.
“Unfortunately, until now, we put clinics wherever we could find space on the pediatric unit, so it was inconvenient for our patients, families,” said Christa Wheeler-Thorne, nurse manager for Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Family Planning.
The $185,000 renovation was funded by a donation to the Friends of the Moncton Hospital Foundation.
“One designated area will allow us to provide coordinated services and treat our youngest patients more efficiently in a private, child-friendly environment,” said Wheeler-Thorne.
The unit will allow for sick children at high risk for infection, like nine-year-old Ashley Upshall, who is being treated for leukemia, to have a private area instead of being treated in the ER or general clinics.
“It will take a lot of pressure off because before you would have to mask her up and go in and clean the washroom before she could use it, and now we don’t have to worry about that,” said Ashley’s mother, Beth Upshall.
Part of the money raised and donated on behalf of her daughter was used to construct a barn door on a medical closet with a picture of two horses, one of which is Ashley’s horse, Moose.
“He is a quarter horse and he is my best friend,” said Ashley, adding the image helps create a fun atmosphere in the clinic and makes being sick a little less scary.
“I think it would be very comforting for littler kids as well.”