Stevenson Memorial Hospital is dedicated to revitalizing and redeveloping our hospital to meet the needs of our community, a community that has outgrown a facility that was constructed in 1964. This is especially true when it comes to the Emergency Department. The 4,000-square-foot Emergency Department was made to accommodate 7,000 visits per year; yet, in 2012, Stevenson accommodated 29,888 emergency department visits. That number hit 33,424 visits for 2014-15. The facility is attempting to handle over four times the level of visits it was designed to handle! Thus, Stevenson is especially committed to upgrading its Emergency Department, as it is the “most relied upon and essential service” at Stevenson, accounting for over 50% of the total visits to the hospital. This is due to two factors: 1. All other hospital emergency facilities are more than 45 minutes away; 2. There is no public transit within or between those communities.
On June 22nd, Stevenson Memorial Hospital submitted a 600-page Stage 1 Capital submission to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC). This weighty submission is the second step on a long journey of 5 years to this point towards revitalizing and redeveloping our hospital. The MOHLTC lays out a 6-stage submission process for redevelopment within the province of Ontario, beginning with a pre-capital application and going through 5 capital submission steps, ultimately ending when shovels hit the ground. We are optimistic that we can begin breaking ground in September of 2018.
As we await the approval of our Stage 1 submission (expected in September 2015), we are reaching out to our community. We have two goals in mind. Our first goal is to make sure that we do our best to keep you informed. Our second goal is to get the community excited about the project through community engagement and, ultimately, community empowerment.
Quality patient care is at the forefront of our minds at all times. It is with patient care in mind that we look at our current building and come to the conclusion that it isn’t enough given the realities of our community. This is confirmed by the Ministry of Finance through its population projections, as we need a facility that is more than two times Stevenson's current size of 71,925 gross square feet. As was mentioned above, our Emergency Department is outdated to meet the needs of our community, and without addressing this, our community could be put at risk, especially if a critical outbreak of an infectious disease hits our community in the future.
The best answer to these eventualities is a new facility with modern infrastructure and services. These services would include a new Emergency Department, OR facilities, Diagnostic Imaging and Lab, and refreshed outpatient clinics. These upgraded facilities would help Stevenson serve our growing community well into the future. You, the community, play an integral part as we plan for the future. We need you behind us to show the province of Ontario how important a thriving community hospital is for our region. We will only be successful in implementing our vision through you – our community. Lifesaving change will only come about through a transparent open dialogue with our community. This is why we fully intend to engage with all stakeholder groups. We are not entitled to the respect of the community until we have earned it. Let us earn your respect for Stevenson Memorial Hospital by creating an experience you’ll be proud of.
Highlights of our Redevelopment include:
- Total gross square footage of 161,577 (more than double our current 71,925, which would satisfy the size needed to meet the Ministry of Finance's community population projections).
- A wrap-around two-story design that extends the hospital to the north and west, while enabling clinical efficiencies between the Obstetrics and Medical-Surgical units.
- Preserving our helipad on the northeast, with an unimpeded flight path.
- Allowing for a dedicated internal road for ambulances on the west side of the property, away from traffic flows.
- Nearly tripling our parking spaces, ensuring accessibility for our patients.
- Total project cost estimate of $136,261,200, with a local share portion of $23,309,700 (the Ministry mandates that hospitals fund the local share portion through community fundraising efforts).
- The 5 capital project steps include our completed Stage 1 Proposal; once approved, we would then proceed to a Stage 2 Functional Program, move onto the Stage 3 Output Specifications, proceed to Stage 4 - Request for Proposal (RFP), and, lastly, Stage 5, Implementation and Construction.
The Stevenson Memorial Hospital Foundation (SMHF) fully supports our efforts to redevelop the hospital, and the Foundation can meet the local share requirement of $23,309,700 mentioned above. The Foundation commissioned a feasibility study that shows the community can raise to $30 million if the project requires it. This study was conducted over four months and involved 54 personal interviews and one focus group session to determine the best way to raise $30 million for renovating and redeveloping the hospital. In addition, there is a letter of support signed by Hospital Foundation Chair Margaret Barber to raise the required local share for this project.
We want to make our intentions crystal clear: We need a new facility, and as such, it needs to be centered on the needs of our growing community. We need a new Emergency Department that will be sufficient for the next 50 years. The hospital still ranks as the 2nd-fastest Emergency Department out of 74 medium and high-volume hospitals in the entire province of Ontario, but the only way this ranking will be maintained and potentially rise higher will be by upgrading the hospital and its facilities.
Cancer Care Ontario recently named Stevenson as the most improved hospital over the past fiscal year. To maintain the high standard that Stevenson is exhibiting, we need to attract the best quality surgeons to our community. The only way this can be done is by having quality operating rooms that are sufficiently equipped. Our OR rooms need to be brought up to 21st-century standards. Improving the facilities and infrastructure for the diagnostic imaging labs will lead to the community experiencing lower wait times and a better level of care.
By 2031, the population Stevenson will serve is expected to grow from its current 55,000 to over 90,000. Stevenson's services will be even more in demand because a large percentage of that 90,000+ will be of an older demographic, making it even more critical that we get underway with the renovations and upgrades Stevenson needs to provide an outstanding level of care to the members of this community when they need it most.
Fortunately, SMH has a groundswell of support from the local community, including Honda Canada, the Town of New Tecumseth, Southlake Regional Health Centre, the County of Simcoe and Nottawasaga Foundation, and the critical support of the Stevenson Memorial Hospital Foundation. We are truly grateful for the incredible support of this community and of the Foundation for its pledge to raise the local share. The redevelopment of SMH will be a community asset that we can all be proud of.
Next Steps:
For that to happen, we need your support and engagement. Participating in this crucial stage is critical to providing a better future for you and your families. How can you help? There are several things you can do. We need your feedback; we will listen and act upon your critical input. You can engage directly with your MPP Jim Wilson, and we’d ask that you sign your name to a petition of support for our redevelopment. An online petition of support for our redevelopment can be found at jimwilsonmpp . Political engagement is a necessary tool in ensuring this redevelopment process remains high on the government’s agenda. To ensure the success of our redevelopment project, we need to show the Ministry of Health that we have a truly engaged community that is committed to rebuilding this hospital.
Completing a project of this magnitude and scale will prove to be a monumental achievement. We expect it will be around September 2018 that we will be shovel-ready and well on our way to a new Stevenson Memorial Hospital. Our immediate aim is to get approval for our stage 1 submission from the Ministry. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that we are capable of positively impacting the health of the communities this hospital serves for several decades to come.
We are enlarging our social presence by being more active on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Find us there and participate in the conversation. We need to hear from you. No contribution is too small. This is your community and your hospital. We need your involvement and engagement in building the best hospital possible to serve your needs and the needs of all surrounding communities for generations to come. We will be unable to do this without your involvement and support.
“I am delighted to have submitted our stage 1 submission to the Ministry of Health and am looking forward to continuing our engagement with all community stakeholder groups as we progress along our path towards redevelopment,” says Dr. Jody Levac, President & CEO. This new hospital, once built, will provide this community with a revitalized facility, high-level patient care, and a hospital we can be proud of.”
Stevenson Memorial Hospital Proposed Site Plan:
