Transforming our care environments

North York General Hospital (NYGH) is planning for the current and future development of our facilities to align exceptional care with exceptional care environments. The Pulse spoke with Paul Clarry, Interim Vice President of Planning, Facilities and Support Services, about exciting capital news.

At North York General Hospital, ensuring our hospital's physical spaces meet the needs of our current patient population as well as the future needs of a growing, diverse community is a top priority. That is why our 2015-2018 Strategy calls for the hospital to align our exceptional care with exceptional care environments.

“We view our physical spaces as a key element in the health care journey – they must be designed to provide the best experience for patients and families,” says Paul Clarry, Interim Vice President, Planning, Facilities and Support Services. “It's not just about the space inside the hospital, it's also about exploring how our facility fits into the health care landscape.”

Crafting a Master Plan

Ensuring a hospital's physical spaces align with the future needs of a growing, diverse community is a complex, multi-faceted process. The hospital has been diligently crafting a Master Plan for the hospital, a road map for the development of our future physical spaces in 5, 10 or even 40 years' time. 

“Master planning takes a long perspective for good reason,” Paul says. “While simple renovations can have a big positive impact on patients and families as well as staff, physicians and volunteers, they can also have consequences for how the hospital responds to longer-term needs and other changes and opportunities that may arise in the future. So Master Plans have to consider alternative scenarios for developing new spaces and renovating existing spaces far into the future to ensure the flexibility and capacity to meet that future.”

Work underway 

While the hospital plans for the future, work is also underway to ensure current care environments align with exceptional care. In the past two years, North York General completed the remodel of the Charlotte & Lewis Steinberg Emergency and the redevelopment of the 7th and 8th floors. This summer, NYGH began the necessary construction work to preserve the heritage building in the Phillips House redevelopment. Later this fall, construction crews will begin the demolition of an addition to the building. This demolition, as well as other major construction, is anticipated to continue through summer 2018.

Before actual construction can begin, the hospital must undergo a five-step rigorous Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care approval process that can take several years. In this regard, the hospital is also pursuing approvals to renovate the Heart Function Clinic, an outpatient clinic that provides intervention and education to patients with congestive heart failure, and the Anne Tanenbaum Chemotherapy Centre, which provides support for patients and families as they experience the journey of cancer treatment. 

“It's an exciting time not only for planning, but for building physical spaces to meet the needs of our communities,” Paul says. “Enhancing our care environments will enable us to create an even better patient experience in the future.”

This article first appeared in the October 2017 issue of The Pulse. 

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