Health care in Prince Edward Island will take a significant step forward when the Dr. Joseph A. and Eileen McMillan Ambulatory Care Centre opens this month at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Premier Robert Ghiz and Health and Wellness Minister Doug Currie announced today.
“Our government has worked closely with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the community to build this beautiful new centre in order to address the growing demand for a broader range of same-day health care services,” said Premier Ghiz, who officially opened the centre. “We are very pleased to deliver on this commitment, knowing that this new Centre will bring the quality of care at the QEH up to another level and put it at the forefront of health care service delivery.”
The 80,000 square-foot Dr. Joseph A. and Eileen McMillan Ambulatory Care Centre will centralize and co-locate 22 same-day health care services – some of which are provincial – from across the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The centre provides increased square footage across all services, allows for additional patient-care spaces to increase capacity, meets current infection-control standards through better design of spaces and increased private rooms, and integrates new equipment and technology to improve patient safety.
“For the 65,000 Islanders who use the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as their community hospital and the 140,000 Islanders it serves as a primary referral hospital, today marks a major step forward in health care service delivery for our province,” said Minister Currie. “Centralizing ambulatory care services in one location within this modern facility will allow for improved access to services, improved patient experiences, and improved use of health care resources. It’s about providing health care in the most appropriate setting by the most appropriate health care provider in a timely fashion.”
The various ambulatory care services at the QEH are being relocated to the new Ambulatory Care Centre in a phased-in approach over the next month to minimize disruption to patients and staff, with the first grouping of services becoming operational on August 27. Patients will be advised as to when services are moving and staff will be coordinating appointments in the new Centre accordingly.
Ambulatory care centres are emerging at leading hospitals throughout Canada and playing an increasingly important role in health care delivery. In 2009-10 the QEH had approximately 85,000 ambulatory care visits or 270 patient visits per day. The new Ambulatory Care Centre anticipates upwards of 126,000 ambulatory care visits per year or 450+ patient visits per day.
“Health care has evolved significantly since this hospital first opened 30 years ago in terms of the needs of our patients and also how we care for them – and ambulatory care is one area that has experienced significant growth,” said Dr. David Ashby, medical director of Ambulatory Care at the QEH. “More people are being diagnosed with illnesses that can be treated and managed in an ambulatory care setting. As many ambulatory care patients will require care or interaction with multiple services as part of their care plan, being able to coordinate scheduled appointments across those services will be more convenient and safer for our patients.”
The increased physical space and capacity to care for patients will extend beyond the Ambulatory Care Centre. Other areas of the hospital, such as the emergency department, that currently provide some ambulatory care services will see reduced work load pressures, patient volumes, as well as reduced admissions and re-admission to hospital when the new Centre opens.
The QEH Foundation and the McMillan family were recognized as important partners in bringing the Ambulatory Care Centre to fruition. Through a major fundraising capital campaign, the Foundation was able to support the Centre with the purchase of medical equipment. Over and above the Foundation’s contribution, a bequest was left by the late Eileen McMillan-Fulford which will assist with future purchase of equipment for the Centre. In recognition of this outstanding gift, the Ambulatory Care Centre was formally named the Dr. Joseph A. and Eileen McMillan Ambulatory Care Centre.
For more information on the Dr. Joseph A. and Eileen McMillan Ambulatory Care Centre, visit www.healthpei.ca/qehambulatorycare.
BACKGROUNDER
• “Ambulatory care” refers to health care services (diagnostic procedures, treatments, patient education or follow-up care) that are scheduled and do not require the patient to stay overnight in hospital.
• Services offered at the Dr. Joseph A. and Eileen McMillan Ambulatory Care Centre include:
- the Dr. Patrick Gill Asthma Education Centre;
- endoscopy;
- provincial eye clinic;
- lithotripsy;
- same-day treatment unit;
- special testing services (cardio-respiratory, echocardiography and vascular lab);
- specimen collection;
- numerous shared clinics (ear, nose and throat);
- enterostomal therapy;
- heart health clinic;
- infusion pump clinic;
- orthopedic clinic;
- out-patient dietician;
- pacemaker clinic;
- plastics clinic;
- renal clinic;
- urology clinic;
- vascular prevention clinic;
- telehealth service; and
- a health information centre.
• Construction of the Ambulatory Care Centre began in 2010. The construction cost was approximately $30 million. The annual operating budget for the Centre will be $8.9 million.
• Approximately 2,000 people work at the QEH, of which 150-200 will work in the new Centre.
• 54 patient care volunteers will work directly in the Centre. They will be supported by another 77 volunteers who work at the information desk and admitting department.
• The Centre is strategically located near the front entrance and parking lot. There are additional disabled parking spaces, improved waiting areas, improved access to information and a new health information centre.
• APM was the contract manager. Subcontractors were local except when the subspecialty was not available on the Island.