The county’s administration, finance and personnel committee recently recommended Wellington County council consider a $9.4-million donation to hospitals in the county.
The money, if approved by county council at its June 26 meeting, would include $5 million donated to help build a new Groves hospital in Aboyne and $4.4 million split between Louise Marshall Hospital (LMH) in Mount Forest and Palmerston and District Hospital (PDH) for upgrades to emergency rooms and renovations to house pharmaceutical dispensing units.
On June 17, Luanne Ward, president of the Palmerston and District Hospital (PDH) Foundation made a request to county council for financial support to help with building and facility renovations to the hospital in Palmerston.
The hospital board of directors has identified a number of deficiencies within the physical structure that need to be upgraded and redeveloped to meet modern health care standards.
“As an integral part of our five-year strategic plan, these renovations are essential to the long-term viability and improved patient care at Palmerston and District Hospital,” states a press release from PDH Foundation development officer Dale Franklin.
The release states the core of these deficiencies occurs in the medical device reprocessing (MDR) department.
The physical structure is deemed inadequate by current medical standards and does not meet the newest standards of accreditation for sterilization.
In order to facilitate the necessary upgrades to the MDR the following areas of the hospital need to be renovated:
– operating room, as well as the OR corridors and support space;
– change rooms;
– medical device reprocessing (clean);
– medical device reprocessing (soiled);
– day surgery and recovery room realignment; and
– emergency room.
The foundation states additional significant renovations and infrastructure upgrades are necessary to accommodate new equipment such as automated pharmaceutical dispensing units and new diagnostic imaging equipment.
“All of these patient critical renovations and upgrades come with a cost not borne by the Ministry of Health, but reliant on the local community,” the release states.
“The total estimated cost of our projects is in excess of $3 million. This is over and above the normal annual equipment funding requests from the hospital.
“Palmerston and District Hospital Foundation is respectfully requesting a financial commitment from Wellington County Council of $2.2 million to help with the necessary building and facility renovations that will keep our hospital an important component in the delivery of quality health care in Wellington County.
“This gift amount can be pledged over a five-year period.”
