St. Boniface Hospital has officially opened their new Emergency Department, designed to serve patients from across Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario for years to come. The renovated and expanded Emergency Department opened its doors to the public on October 2nd. The physical footprint of the hospital space has changed significantly, after 16,000 square feet were renovated and over 80,000 square feet of new space was constructed, but it’s the changes for patients and staff that have the community most excited.
Kyle Penny, Manager of Health Services of Emergency, starts with one of the basics: “Patients now have natural light, which is a beautiful thing,” he shares. “Generally, it’s nice, clean and looks bright. And in contrast to our old area that looks… Old, it had put in its time. There are more amenities for patient care, but also patient comfort.”
Changes like larger, fully enclosed treatment rooms are offering more privacy while increasing sight lines and safety for patients. “Instead of having curtains, like in the old department, all the rooms have sliding glass doors, and they have a frosting option,” explains Jennifer Ahi, clinical resource nurse. “It provides more dignity when they’re having difficult conversations or having certain procedures or treatments done.”
The Emergency Department, located at the south end of the campus, now also includes an indoor ambulance bay that accommodates 10 trucks, and in-department diagnostic testing. Staff are also heartened by the way the changes will improve how they care for patients.
Above, a series of images showing new spaces in the St. Boniface Hospital Emergency Department.
“We’ll have a more relaxing, less crowded, less hectic experience from beginning to end,” explains Dr. Zoe Piggett, Medical Site Director. “Let’s start with the waiting room; our old waiting area only seats about 30 people. And as everyone knows, sometimes it’s very crowded out there and the waits can be quite long. There wasn’t enough room for patients to have a family member or a support person with them. Our new and expanded waiting room has 80 chairs in it, and of course, we hope there will never be 80 people waiting for care, but it allows people to bring someone to support them during what is usually a difficult and frightening time.”
Staff are looking forward to a new workplace environment, as well. In the urgent and sometimes emotionally fraught Emergency Department, safety matters for staff and patients alike. “For years, we’ve worked in a cramped space,” continues Ahi, the charge nurse. “So it’s exciting having a brand-new space. Our job is very fast paced and we are moving around a lot. It’s kind of reassuring knowing that, navigating through the department, there’s now less chance of running into stretchers, other colleagues and equipment.”
Kyle Penny shares Ahi’s enthusiasm for staff supports for those working in stressful healthcare environments. “We are very fortunate to have an absolutely beautiful staff room for their general use, as well as some quick break areas that are located directly off the treatment spaces or the clinical areas,” he shares. “And there again, I can’t stop celebrating having access to natural light in exterior windows. We’ve never had that in emergency and it’s making a difference.”
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To read more about how St. Boniface Hospital Foundation and its donor helped to make this new space a reality, please click here.