Emergency room expansion underway on Manitoulin Island
The pandemic has caused major delays for construction projects, and the emergency room expansion at Manitoulin Health Centre in Mindemoya is no exception.
The project was originally to start this past spring and be complete by December 2021. But now construction is expected to wrap up next summer.
The delay has also led to changes in design. Instead of one negative pressure room, there will now be three. These are rooms that are safe to care for COVID patients/respiratory illness because the air does not circulate throughout the facility.
“Improved airflow to help for a consideration of future respiratory outbreaks -- and that even includes people with serious pneumonias or during flu season -- anything where we’ve got a little more space and better airflow, obviously, is good for our patients,” said Dr. Maurianne Reade, who is a physician at Manitoulin Health Centre's Mindemoya site.
The 2,700 square-foot-extension will also feature a better line of sight to patient areas from the nursing station, a larger chemotherapy suite, greater confidentiality during visits and a dedicated mental health observation area.
“We will be having a safe room for mental health patients for that extra level of protection for people," Reade said.
"The pandemic has certainly accelerated or highlighted the need as we see that second wave of a pandemic of mental health issues.”
Officials with the hospital said Manitoulin Health Centre has one of the highest rates in the north of people arriving at the ER with mental health challenges.
In all, $1.75 million has already been raised, but more money is needed in order to complete the project.
'Let’s Emerg Together' is the name of the campaign launched Monday; progress will be displayed through a thermometer created by local Ojibwe artist Kathryn Corbiere, owner of One Kwe.
“We’ve had very generous gifts from First Nations, from municipalities and groups and so we are getting there but there is a gap still,” said Angela Becks, fundraising chair.
A total of $2.5 million needs to be raised with the hospital to cover the costs for the rest of the project.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.