New Hospital for Moose Jaw

It was the announcement Moose Jaw and the entire Five Hill Health Region (FHHR) has been waiting for.

Tuesday afternoon the Moose Jaw Union Hospital Solarium was full of excitement and smiles as Health Minister Don McMorris announced Moose Jaw will become the home of a new state-of-the-art ‘patient friendly' hospital.

Hoping to begin construction in 2013, McMorris said the project is also projected to be completed by the end of 2015.

However before construction can begin, the ministry is providing the region with another $5 million this fiscal year to complete a detailed plan.

This will include a layout and plan for the structure, finding a location, while at the same time implementing the ‘lean design.'

According to McMorris, a lean design is where the services of the hospital are collected around the patient.

“Instead of the patient travelling from floor to floor or from one end of the building to the other, patient services are centered around the patient.”

He said this type of design helps maximize time management for the health care providers in the hospital, helps with the flow of the hospital and creates a lot of added efficiencies in general.

As well by using the lean design it will cut down on the number of functional beds needed in the hospital.

McMorris said in other jurisdictions and facilities that have also implemented lean processes and design, it was noted that with the improvements and added efficiency within the hospital there was a lower patient ratio, resulting in fewer beds being needed.

He said one of the unique points about the new Moose Jaw hospital will be that the design, from the beginning, will be based on lean methodologies opposed to having to incorporate them into an existing facility.

“So what we are really looking forward to is starting from the ground up.”

Story origninally printed in the Moose Jaw Times Herald on August 31st, 2011.

If you would like to contribute to the new hospital click here.