For Immediate Release
August 5, 2011

Province reinvests in HDGH Priorities
Additional funding addresses rising volume, staff workload and improved patient care

(Windsor, ON) – Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital will hire more than 20 new nurses, upgrade patient rooms and implement measures to reduce staff workload and improve patient care in a reinvestment strategy announced Friday.

The $5 million in additional funding earmarked by the Ontario government responds to reinvestment needs identified by provincial supervisor Ken Deane, based on feedback provided to Deane from staff since his arrival at the hospital in January.

The additional funding will serve to address the impact of rising volumes for critical HDGH programs and services in recent years, and recognizes the increased workload on staff and complexity of care provided at HDGH.

Key components of this reinvestment strategy include:

• More nurses in the Intensive Care Unit and Coronary Care Unit, helping address increased occupancy levels in these core HDGH areas of operation. Additional nurses will be hired for the 6th, 7th and 8th floor in-patient units, mostly for midnight shifts to better ensure patient needs are met 24-7 amid higher occupancy levels and increased patient acuity.
• More support for frontline managers by increasing after-hours administrative support, and a staffing office to handle scheduling and staff replacement concerns, allowing nursing managers to focus more time on patient programs.
• Introducing centralized portering to transfer patients to appointments around the hospital, instead of requiring nurses having to leave a unit floor to transfer a patient.
• Refreshed and expanded supplies of commonly used equipment around the hospital, including new purchases of blood pressure cuffs, blanket warmers, restraints, linen carts and commodes.
• Better environment for patients through a refresh of patient units, including painting, patching, ceiling tiles, over-bed lights and other minor renovations.
• Support for new technology by covering maintenance contracts and implementation costs for 256 new IV pumps, which were installed last May. HDGH is the first hospital in the Erie-St. Clair LHIN and third in the province to install the new “smart pumps,” a wireless system technology that makes it easier to check and adjust medication levels for patients.

“Since my arrival some seven months ago, staff and management have been clear that they need additional support to meet rising patient volumes and critical care demands on a 24-7 basis,” said Ken Deane. “This Ontario government support will go a long way towards addressing areas of HDGH’s core operations which require reinvestment, which will in turn improve patient care and improve staff morale.”

For more information contact Steve Erwin, Director of Communications at 519-973-4433.