Robert Nathanson

By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

The transition from the Emergency Room (ER) to the modular ER went smoothly last week at the Lakeshore General Hospital (LGH). Lakeshore ER Department Chief Robert Nathanson told The Suburban that continuing to provide patient care during the execution of the transition was made a priority. “The transition went well because it was well planned. This required a lot of time and energy from a huge number of people to ensure the logistics would make for a smoother transition. Everything was in order by 5 a.m. on transition day. Triage was only closed for a short period and ambulance were diverted to other hospitals except for high priority emergencies. One by one all patients on stretchers were moved. Walk-ins were guided over with a chaperone. By 7:30 a.m. the moving of patients was 90% complete. By 10 a.m. the remaining patients were moved upstairs or discharged when their care was completed.”

The completion of the modular building and the transition is a first sign of hope for many as promises to improve the LGH ER were made in the past but nothing happened. At the announcement of this new construction plan, many critics shrugged it off as “just another plan”. Nathanson admitted that some plans were quashed and shed light on this issue by opening up and sharing details to The Suburban. “Previously when plans were made, we would run into the issue where we would have to cancel patient care in order to execute those plans. This is something we are adamant about and we didn’t want to negotiate with providing patient care. Yes the renovations were much needed and the condition and layout of the ER posed various challenges. A permanent structure that was built years ago is logistically difficult to update but we were not prepared to shut it down at the cost of patient care. This is why a ‘buffer’ space was needed and this buffer will serve us throughout our entire seven-year plan to renovate various sections of the hospital without compromising patient care. The modular ER will allow for the new permanent ER to be built. Once the new ER is built and the transition has been made, the modular building will serve as buffer space while other renovations are carried out step by step without cancelling any patient services. This did take longer and I was just as disappointed to cancel previous plans, but it was worth the wait because it will be done right.” Nathanson says that as a secondary (to patient care) bonus, the renovations using the “buffer” space are also more cost efficient.

Approximately 98% of the equipment in the modular ER is brand new. The ISO rooms and rooms for resuscitation are now situated in clear view of nursing stations. As part of the design, more sunlight throughout the modular ER lifts the mood and more space has been allocated in order to increase capacity from 31 to 38 stretchers.