A member of our Facilities team monitors the equipment in our Kidd 2 mechanical room. Many of these spaces at our two hospitals sites, have recently or will soon undergo upgrades thanks to the Hospital Infrastructure Renewal Fund.
A member of our Facilities team monitors the equipment in our Kidd 2 mechanical room. Many of these spaces at our two hospitals sites, have recently or will soon undergo upgrades thanks to the Hospital Infrastructure Renewal Fund.
Credit
Matthew Manor

Some important construction is now underway at KHSC, thanks to a major funding boost from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. KHSC has received more than $6.8 million in funding from the Hospital Infrastructure Renewal Fund (HIRF) and another $450,000 in funding in an Exceptional Circumstance Project Grant.

Earlier this month, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Christine Elliott visited the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario to announce that the province was investing $175 million this year to complete upgrades and repairs at 128 hospitals across Ontario.

"The health and safety of patients and families is a priority for our government," said Elliott in a government news release. "That's why we must make the necessary investments in our hospitals now, to ensure our providers have the facilities they need to continue to provide excellent quality care to patients. This funding will help ensure hospitals across Ontario are able to make the needed upgrades, improvements and maintenance so patients and families have access to reliable, quality care they expect and deserve."

At KHSC the funding will be used to complete 25 projects before the end of March. Most of the work will be completed at our KGH and HDH sites, with several more projects taking place in some of our smaller satellite buildings.

Bigger ticket projects include upgrades to air handling units in the Armstrong wing at our KGH site and in the ORs at our HDH site.

“These types of upgrades not only ensure that our staff, patients and families can remain comfortable and safe in our facilities, but also that our buildings are more energy efficient,” says Ted Splinter, KHSC’s Director of Facilities. “Once these projects are complete, when combined with work we’ve done over the past several years, we expect to save more than $800,000 per-year in energy costs. These savings can then be directed back into patient care.”

These types of infrastructure upgrades have also reduced KHSC’s carbon footprint by 14 per cent in recent years.

Among other projects to be completed with the funding include stone refinishing on the Watkins and Connell wings and a new bulk oxygen system at the KGH site. It will also go towards the continued work to upgrade the fire alarm system at the HDH site.

“We would like to thank the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for their continued support of KHSC which will allow us to complete this important infrastructure work,” says Splinter. “We have highly skilled staff across our KHSC sites that deliver excellent care every day. This funding will help ensure that they are working in an environment that better meets their needs.”