Selkirk's new hospital aims to put patients at ease, focus on recovery
Laura Glowacki | CBC News | Posted: June 20, 2017 8:41 PM | Last Updated: June 20, 2017
'It's a very very different feel from what you're used to,' says Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority
For patients and their families in Selkirk, a trip to the hospital will soon be an entirely different experience, according to the region's health authority.
The city's new hospital, the $111 million Selkirk Regional Health Centre, opens to the public Sunday. Patients will be brought from the old hospital about 100 metres away to the new hospital with help from 20 transfer workers and nine nurses.
After years of planning and design work, the new facility will feel more like a wellness centre than a traditional hospital, said Ron Janzen, vice president of corporate services with Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority.
"It's a very very different feel from what you're used to," he said.
It's designed on a pinwheel model, where various departments connect at a single centre point — a large, open courtyard.
Gone are the days of gloomy, long hallways with patient rooms on either side. Selkirk's new hospital is larger, with more windows, greater privacy for patients and space for families and staff to be comfortable.
When the public enters through the front doors, they find themselves in a large, glass atrium that's designed to be welcoming, said Janzen.
"All these things have been very carefully designed to create an environment that is calming, that speaks towards healing and recovery," he said.
Manitoba's Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen describes it simply as a "beautiful building."
"The community and region have waited a long time, so obviously this is a proud moment for them," he said at a news conference Tuesday.
The hospital will have 65 beds: 45 medical beds, eight beds for surgeries, eight beds dedicated to obstetrics and family planning and four beds for intensive or special care.
Eighty per cent of the beds are single-occupancy rooms to improve patient privacy.
Janzen said the Selkirk Regional Health Centre is completely wired for 21st century technology that will allow doctors and other medical staff to easily access electronic records.
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"[It's] going to really change the way we communicate and deal with patient records and handle charts," he said.
Some of the other new features in the hospital include a larger emergency — three times bigger than the old space — along with a drive-thru bay for ambulances that is completely climate controlled.
The Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority is currently conducting a feasibility study to determine whether the old Selkirk hospital can still be used after staff and patients have vacated.