Project planners are into the final stages of design for the new health facility to replace Prince County Hospital. Throughout December and January, the facility plans and specifications were reviewed from over 40 different perspectives. These include the site plan, masonry, structural steel, cabinetry, door locations, hardware, wall and floor finishes, windows, mechanical, electrical, control systems, security systems, lighting and medical gas systems.
In early February, plans and specifications will be issued for pricing and a spring start date for construction of the new facility is anticipated.
Mock Up Rooms Reviewed:
Tours of the simulated patient rooms or "mock up" rooms as they have been known, were held in December. The mock ups were designed to help planners focus on areas such as lighting, furniture, patient movement and specifics of design to enhance patient care.
Over 50 staff and physicians took the opportunity to visit the rooms and offer their observations.
The mock up process provided very valuable feedback on design and increased staff awareness of the proposed room design. Several improvements in design have resulted from the simulated patient care experience. One issue arising from the mock up room review was the concern staff had about the slope of the bathroom floors to accommodate a shower.
Staff were concerned about both patient safety and the containment of water. The shower floor was more accurately finished to enable planners to better analyze the space. On further review, staff were satisfied that the proposed shower design will be suitable for the new facility.
Parking Plans Finalized:
Also in January, the Summerside City Council reached a decision to approve a proposal from the project Planning Committee concerning parking space size for the new health facility.
Originally, the Planning Committee had submitted a national architectural standard parking space width of approximately 9 feet. Summerside Council requested that the size be increased to a 10 foot width to meet Summerside standards. It was agreed that 142 larger size visitor spaces will be available at the facility.
Currently, the Prince County Hospital offers 265 spaces within a two block radius. The new health facility will offer a total of 428 parking spaces.
The Planning Committee is pleased with the design and the number of parking spaces available on the site.
Big Job to Prepare for Transition Ahead:
Aside from construction, the most intensive work ahead relates to the planning effort to equip the hospital and ensure programs within the facility will operate efficiently in their new space. Planners are also challenged to ensure that the movement of staff, equipment and patients in 2003 will be a smooth transition.
The next two years will focus on the impact of program redesign on staff and physicians as we plan for the move from a fifty year old facility to a new state of the art health facility. Work processes are changing dramatically. For example, there will be improved information systems and sophisticated building controls such as security systems, heating, air conditioning and radiology services which will all be computerized. Traditional radiology films will be replaced with digital computer images which can be transferred electronically anywhere within PEI or out-of-province locations such as Halifax or Moncton.
Gord Loder, Equipment Manager for the project is currently working with a variety of companies which specialize in manufacturing healthcare equipment. A variety of new state of the art equipment will be purchased thanks to the success of the Prince County Hospital Foundation's 12. 5 million dollar "Bring good health to life" community fundraising campaign.
In December, an equipment show, offered by health care vendors such as Siemens, General Electric Marquette, Space Labs, Datex, Ohmeda and Agilent, was held at the Loyalist Country Inn to offer nursing staff and physicians the opportunity to view a variety of healthcare equipment. Mr. Loder also arranged for staff to have the opportunity to view and test heart monitoring equipment from one of the vendors.
The next step will be for companies to carry out clinical trials with Prince County Hospital staff and patients to ensure satisfaction and effectiveness of equipment operation. Other areas of purchasing include furnishing such as desks, chairs, etc. which are all being evaluated based on durability and design effectiveness.