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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, April 10, 2014 | 6 Spotlight "Connected to your Community" Georgetown Hospital nears nish line of reno project by Lisa Tallyn Metroland South Media Group The Georgetown Hospital as it underwent expansion construction. The project is now in its nal stages.| photo courtesy Metroland South Media Group G eorgetown Hospital is in the homestretch of a $14.2 million construction/renovation project that has tripled the size of its emergency department (ED). The nal phase of the project -- the housing of a larger, centralized diagnostic imaging department within emergency -- is currently underway with completion slated for May. The project at the hospital, which is under the umbrella of Halton Healthcare Services (HHS), began in May 2012, when ground was broken to begin construction on the expanding ED. Now open The rst patients were seen in the now 14,000 sq.-ft., modern, ef cient space in October 2013. Its predecessor was only 4,720 sq. ft. and sized to handle approximately 14,000 people each year, not the more than 30,000 who are actually treated there. That number is expected to increase by 12 per cent over the next ve years. The expansion more than doubles the number of stretcher spaces in emergency, from 10 to 21, all situated in a racetrack design within the department. "The difference now is every single stretcher is in its own room, so there's privacy, con dentiality, and infection control," Halton Hospitals Tina Depko-Denver Michael Gregory Lisa Tallyn David Lea Nikki Wesley Building Our Health Care said Cindy McDonell, Georgetown Hospital's Chief Operating Of cer (COO). The ED also houses a larger and more ef cient trauma room, as well as two large rooms for pediatric emergency care. These spaces are equipped with beds so family members can sleep over, if necessary. A quiet seclusion room is available for treatment of mental health patients, a feature the previous ED didn't have, and a gynecological exam room is equipped with its own washroom. A Rapid Assessment Fast Track (RAFT) area allows for the rapid assessment and Halton Hospitals: Building Our Health Care is a special Metroland Media West four-part project that explores the critical need for, status and funding of numerous hospital expansion/construction projects in Halton's four municipalities -- Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Georgetown. The series has appeared across four weeks in our Thursday edition. Today is the fourth and nal instalment with a look at expansion at the Georgetown Hospital. For all the stories, photos and video, visit www.oakvillebeaver.com and http://insidehalton.com/ video/4395970. treatment of less serious injuries and illnesses and it can be opened or closed, depending on volume in the ED. Shirley Andrechek, patient care manager for the Georgetown Hospital's emergency department, said the new ED is a hit with hospital staff as well as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel. "The registration staff really like the triage registration model that's been implemented," said Andrechek. "The care has not changed, but there's a peacefulness in that unit, because of colour, space, the texture on the counter, and privacy," said McDonell. For patients, the space is less chaotic, more peaceful and soothing, and "probably, ultimately more therapeutic," she noted. Diagnostic imaging improvements Meanwhile, the diagnostic imaging department will bring together X-ray, ultrasound, bone densitometry and mammography into one designated space rather than them being spread throughout the hospital. As part of the redevelopment, diagnostic see New on p.12 NEIL OLIVER Vice ­President and Group Publisher DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Halton Region Editor in Chief Volume 52 | Number 43 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Advertising Department (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4444 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 DANIEL BAIRD Director of Advertising ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor