So Those Who Once Fought For Keeping A Fully Functioning Hospital In Fort Erie, Ontario Were Right – What Was A Once-Proud Community Hospital Is Now ‘Dedicated’ To Palliative Care

A Commentary by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Once upon only six or more years ago, there were Fort Erie, Ontario citizens like Sue Salzer, along with Port Colborne allies like Pat Scholfield, who knew that the amalgamated Niagara Health System – the hospital board for this region amalgamated under the former Ontario Tory Harris/Hudak government – were getting ready to concentrate most of the acute care health services in the region in one new hospital site.

Interim Niagara Health System CEO Sue Matthews trumpets palliative care services at former hospital in Fort Erie, Ontario.

That is why they, along with more than 100 brave doctors and numerous equally brave nurses across Niagara, spoke out against the Niagara Health System’s consolidation plans. Many of them argued that if there was to be only one new mega-hospital for Niagara’s future, it should be located at a more central location in the region, and not in the crazy north Niagara place it is now in west St. Catharines.

But it is there now, thanks to former NHS CEO Debbie Sevenpifer and all of her enablers on her handpicked hospital board, media whores at the St. Catharines Standard and others. And that also means thanks to all of those good citizens – including citizens in the central and south ends of Niagara who, for one reason or another, weren’t paying attention to what Sevenpifer and company were doing six or seven years ago – and there is nothing we can do about it.

So here we are. The former Douglas Memorial Hospital in St. Catharines is now a “centre of excellence” or whatever they want to call it for palliative care, and there may still be the “urgent care centre” that replaced the emergency room there, and so on.

And we continue to watch more acute care services from this site and others in Port Colborne, Welland and Niagara Falls funneled into the new “regional hospital” in west St. Catharines. And those who now believe that the NHS’s Kevin Smith or whoever else is going to get a provincial government strapped for money and facing calls from several other regions of the province for new hospitals, to now site another new hospital in Niagara Falls or anywhere else in Niagara’s south end might just as well wait for the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz to come flying out of whatever  true believer’s butt end, because it ain’t going to happen. Not in our lifetime.

Now here is the media release from the Niagara Health System. It is all about the new palliative care that was recommended for this hospital or now former hospital site back to eight to ten years ago when the first consultant reports  came out and a few of us in the media tried to report on them. Unfortunately, there are still some so-called “yellow shirts” that never listened.

And I’m talking about “yellow shirts” in the south of Niagara who still believe in the fantasy of another new hospital being built in this region in their lifetime.

Now here is the September 12^th news release from the Niagara Heath System.

New dedicated complex care, palliative care space
a more home-like environment for patients, families

With the ribbon officially cut today for the new complex care and palliative care space at the Douglas Memorial Site in Fort Erie, the Niagara Health System healthcare team is busy preparing the area for patients beginning Thursday, September 19th.

“Combining the complex care and palliative care programs in this dedicated space creates many benefits for our patients and families and makes it easier for our healthcare team to provide patient-centred, quality care,” says Niagara Health System Interim President and CEO Dr. Sue Matthews. “In addition to being bright, spacious and easy to access, this new space is purpose-designed for the needs of our complex care and palliative care patients.”

The redevelopment includes:

·       six dedicated palliative care beds all on the same floor

·       same-floor access to our allied healthcare services: physiotherapy, and speech, recreational and occupational therapy

·       upgraded infection prevention and control features

·       a new patient wander guard system

·       updated lighting at bedsides and in common areas

·       aesthetic upgrades in patient areas to provide a more home-like, healing environment

·       relocated and redecorated family room that gives families of patients a private space while visiting loved ones

“Many individuals and groups played a part in making this redevelopment possible – community donors, supporters and foundations; volunteers; members of our healthcare team; partners,” says Dr. Matthews. “I would like to acknowledge the teams and generous supporters of the Douglas Memorial Hospital Foundation and the NHS Foundation/It’s Our Time Campaign, which each committed $175,000 to this project, in addition to the NHS’s $150,000 contribution. A project like this just isn’t possible without community support and leadership, and we are grateful to all of our supporters and donors, and to the provincial government, for helping to make this project a reality.”

In addition, a sunroom project was completed this summer on the first floor of the site through the support of both the Douglas Memorial Hospital Auxiliary and the Douglas Memorial Hospital Foundation. The sunroom provides patients and families a place to congregate and enjoy the surroundings. A dedicated wheelchair accessible shower room was also completed earlier this year.

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