Bluewater Health

From blue sky to reality┬áBluewater Health is amalgamating all of SarniaÔÇÖs hospital services on one site through a big construction and renovation project. Tracy Gazarek explains to Gay Sutton how the project was designed for the local community and to help protect the environment. On the shores of the southernmost tip of Lake Huron lies the city of Sarnia, Ontario. Enjoying an enviable position at the point where the St. Clair River exits the Great Lakes, it is one of the busiest gateways to the US from Ontario. ┬á And it is here that Bluewater Health, the authority that oversees the hospital services in Lambton County, is engaged in an ambitious $122 million construction and renovation project that will consolidate all of SarniaÔÇÖs hospital operations in one high-tech location. Currently the hospital services are spread across two separate sites three blocks apart, which creates problems for both the staff and the local community. The maternal infant and child program, for example, is currently split across three floors and two sitesÔÇömaternity at one site and pediatrics at the other. ÔÇ£All of this will be consolidated onto one floor,ÔÇØ says Tracy Gazarek, project manager for the construction program, ÔÇ£and that will be a huge win for everyone.ÔÇØAll services will be brought to the Norman Street site, while the old Sarnia General Hospital, dating back to 1896 and located three blocks away on Mitton Street, will eventually be decommissioned.The process of getting the plan right has been thorough and lengthy. In common with all Ministry of Health projects, Bluewater Health was asked to create and submit a Functional Program that ÔÇ£dictates what programs and services would be offered at our hospital, and identifies such things as room types and sizes,ÔÇØ Gazarek explains. In the preparation of this document, nothing was left to chance or to speculation. Taking the services and facilities already provided by the existing hospitals as a baseline, the company undertook detailed research into the needs of the population and then projected what their needs would be in 10 yearsÔÇÖ timeÔÇöaccurately working out from this exactly what services and bed space would be required.┬á Once the program had been approved, an architect was hired to take it through all the stages of design. Again, this was done in very close collaboration with all the stakeholders. Fifty user teams were consulted, ÔÇ£so a broad base of frontline people gave input into the design,ÔÇØ Gazarek explains. ÔÇ£We also involved the whole community and asked them, ÔÇÿWhat is it you want the hospital to be like?ÔÇÖÔÇØ The resulting visionÔÇöÔÇ£creating an environment rich in life, light, comfort and celebrationÔÇØÔÇöwas used in the design. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖll be promoting family-centered care,ÔÇØ Gazarek says, ÔÇ£so weÔÇÖve created lounges where families can go, and gardens and places where the patient can go.ÔÇØ The people focus is even present in the interior design, which reflects important elements of the local community: a water theme for the lake and river, an agricultural theme for the farming community, and an industrial theme for the petrochemical industries in the area. An exciting new seven-story building is currently under construction and should be ready to move into by the summer of 2010. ÔÇ£When the cranes were erected last fall, there was a huge ÔÇÿhallelujahÔÇÖ in the community, because it was becoming real at last; they could see the contractors on the site.ÔÇØ┬á The plans are ambitious. The first five floors of the new building will house the outpatient facilities, maternal infant and child program, a new surgical suite, rehab inpatients, a critical care unit, medical inpatients and the continuing care unit. The sixth and seventh floors are a mechanical and electrical penthouse.ÔÇ£Right now weÔÇÖre one year into construction, and the contractor is due to complete pouring the concrete structure by mid-November. At the lower levels theyÔÇÖre already starting to put in the mechanical and electrical rough endsÔÇöthe piping and things of that nature.ÔÇØ Links are to be constructed on all five clinical floors between this new building and the adjacent 1990s building, which will receive some cosmetic updates and will continue to house medical and surgical inpatients. Finally, the original 1944 building will undergo complete renovation in the final phase of development and will house support services such as administration and maintenance, along with the mental health patients. The existing links to the 1990 building will be retained. When complete, the project will double the size of the Norman site facilities. ÔÇ£Our emergency department will be significantly larger than the current emergency facility at the Mitton site, while our peri-operative area will have eight new operating rooms and four new procedure rooms, all of which will be equipped with the newest technology,ÔÇØ Gazarek says. And with a budget of $40 million for new equipment, she expects to be able to invest in the most advanced technology. Fifty-two new bed spaces will also be added, making this a 337-bed hospital. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the new build, however, is the work being done under the LEED certification program to improve the energy and environmental performance of the building. Bluewater is aiming to become LEED certified, which means it has to achieve between 26 and 32 points. Based on current calculations, it will probably reach the high end of this range. For example, Bluewater is putting in a ÔÇ£green roof,ÔÇØ which means the roof will be grassed rather than tiled or asphalted, and rainwater will be collected and used to irrigate the roof and gardens. The building fixtures have been chosen for their environmental performance. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre targeting a 20 percent reduction in water use in the new building, and weÔÇÖre looking at energy-efficient light fixtures,ÔÇØ Gazarek explains. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre also looking at using native plants in our landscaping.ÔÇØ Alternative modes of transportation are being encouraged through the installation of bike racks, along with a shower room and changing rooms. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre also working with the city of Sarnia to see if a bus route can come through the site. But we canÔÇÖt bank on that as part of our points system, as the outcome is not in our hands.ÔÇØThe LEED initiative should result in an impressive energy cost saving of $125,000 to $250,000 a year. And with payback in just four years, it will be yet another benefit for the local community.┬á