Celebrating 20 Years of Integrated and Exceptional Care
2024-01-20
By President & CEO Jeanette Despatie - Published in the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder on Saturday, January 20th, 2024
Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH)
is celebrating a significant milestone this year as it marks its 20th
anniversary. While the hospital's historical roots extend beyond Confederation,
it was two decades ago this month that a decision by the provincial government
paved the way for the amalgamation of the city's two acute care hospitals –
Hotel Dieu and Cornwall General – into the Cornwall Community Hospital,
McConnell Site or Second Street Site, operating under one board and
administration.
Aligned with a provincial
directive, CCH, alongside other Ontario hospitals, embraced a vision of merging
to create larger healthcare organizations within their communities. The primary
objective was to enhance the hospital's capacity to meet the healthcare needs
of the patient population by sharing resources and services guided by a unified
vision and administration.
The ensuing two decades have been
an extraordinary journey of integration, growth and innovation for CCH,
starting with the consolidation of services on the McConnell Site. By 2006, the
hospital successfully consolidated its Emergency services at McConnell,
followed by the completion of the "Early Works Project" in 2008,
which involved renovations to consolidate the Critical Care Unit and Birthing
suites. However, the overarching objective was the establishment of a new
facility. Envisioning the future, the goal was to unite all services within a
state-of-the-art hospital campus on McConnell Avenue. This ambitious plan aimed
to create a centralized and streamlined care experience, providing many
advantages for both patients and visitors.
The province endorsed this
vision, approving the Redevelopment Project, which included the construction of
a new 95,000 square-foot West Wing addition to the McConnell Site. In 2009, CCH
officially broke ground, initiating the construction of a modern, consolidated
acute care hospital. Over the next several years, the McConnell Site
transformed into a bustling construction zone, contributing significantly to
the local trade and hospitality industry, and generating more than 100,000
hours of construction manpower.
The $126 million project was
mostly funded by the province with substantial contributions from our
municipalities and the community through the Cornwall Community Hospital
Foundation, demonstrating the community’s profound commitment to the
enhancement of their new hospital.
The project reached completion as
planned in 2014. The ultramodern West Wing introduced 37' glass walls for more
natural light, new state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging equipment, new operating
suites, a new emergency department, additional services and cutting-edge
technologies.
The closure of the Second Street
site that same year marked a pivotal moment, with all services and staff
transitioning to the newly consolidated West Wing, officially forming the fully
integrated and advanced hospital campus on McConnell Avenue as envisioned.
The community responded with
excitement during this period. Open houses drew eager community members. The
official ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 25, 2015, was attended by over 200
dignitaries. The new West Wing became the focal point of conversations throughout
town.
Since then, CCH has continued its
trajectory of consolidated innovation to grow and meet needs. In 2016, the
hospital implemented a state-of-the-art electronic health record system,
establishing CCH as one of Canada's fully digitally integrated community
hospitals. This digital system unified health records and hospital staff in
real-time, providing immediate access to patient information across
departments. The recent integration of our electronic health record system with
local long-term care facilities exemplifies the system’s continued significant
contributions to patient outcomes as well as our growth, sustainability, and
digital transformation.
The amalgamation of Addiction
Services of Eastern Ontario with CCH in 2013 paved the way for the opening of
the Community Addiction and Mental Health Services Centre in 2017.
Strategically positioned next to the hospital, this centre seamlessly amalgamated
adult and youth mental health and addiction services previously dispersed
across different sites in Cornwall.
Additional notable achievements
to advance locally integrated healthcare have included the introduction of
Cornwall's first Chemotherapy Clinic at CCH in 2016, opening the on-site Family
Caregiver Centre in 2019, designation as a District Stroke Centre for the East
Champlain Region in 2021 and opening a new Acute Stroke Unit in 2022.
Additionally, our recent acquisition of the property at 825 McConnell Avenue
underscores our commitment to maintaining a consolidated hospital campus on our
side of McConnell Avenue for the foreseeable future.
The unforeseen challenges posed
by the COVID-19 pandemic tested the resilience of CCH. Nevertheless, the
investments made over the years in consolidating services since 2004 positioned
the hospital to respond effectively and navigate a strong recovery on behalf of
our community.
Looking ahead, the future looks
bright for CCH. As we stand proud of our accomplishments over the past two
decades, I believe we are positioned to meet the future needs of the community,
guided by our shared vision of providing Exceptional Care. Always. and
the strong support of our people and communities. We look forward to continuing
to provide care for you in the coming decades and beyond.
