December 2011
Planning starts for new clinical activity
 
With construction activity in full swing—on the Jeanne Mance 4&5 clinics, Johnson St. elevator tower, main lobby staircase—work is also ramping up on the clinic transfer process as Hotel Dieu works with Kingston General Hospital to ensure a smooth transition of most outpatient clinical activity from KGH to Hotel Dieu.

On budget and on schedule, our $20 million expansion project is 25 per cent complete and currently looks like this:

Facilities administration and shops move to Johnson 0:  COMPLETE
The Facilities Management team and trades staff (e.g., plumbers, electricians, painters, etc.) have now relocated from Mary Alice 4 and Jeanne Mance 4&5 to Johnson 0 into newly renovated space.  This frees up necessary space on levels 4 and 5 for clinic construction. 

New elevator tower:  Expect to complete JULY 2012
This is important work because it will improve access to the upper floors.  The new two-car bank of elevators will run up the back of the Johnson Wing, coming up just behind the current registration desks in the Johnson clinics.  For safety reasons, a staircase will be built adjacent to this.  The new elevators will help to move bulky items (e.g., supplies, procedures carts, cleaning carts, charts) plus staff, which means the main elevators in the lobby can support patient traffic.

To support the elevator construction and for staff/patient safety, we have closed the Johnson St. entrance at the Auditorium as the construction crews do what is called a continuous pour.  They put the elevator shaft frames in place and then pour concrete, bringing truck after truck, until those frames are filled.  This work is repeated at each level.  At times, then, Johnson St. is down to one lane as trucks come in. 

Lobby renovation:  Stairwell work continues into FEB; Gift Shop renovation begins late JAN/early FEB
We now have one elevator out of service—and it will be out for a few more months—because we’re digging underneath to take it down to 00 (Medical Records).  We currently only have one elevator (a service elevator near the back staircase) that goes down that low; if it goes out of service, then we have issues about accessing 00 level where medical records are housed.  This work has been difficult at times—some hand digging was required in addition to power drilling—but it will create the necessary backup system to give us two elevators to level 00 in future.

The lobby stairwell work is happening as much as possible after regular hours (nights, weekends) to minimize noise.  This staircase will help move people with more ease and in a more visible way to the second floor.  The staircase is going to be beautiful; it will be made of stone and steel and be a real feature in the lobby, while also helping us to improve the flow of patients to the upper floors.

Work on a Gift Shop renovation will start early in the new year.  We will be moving the Gift Shop slightly to the left in order to open up a clear corridor out the back to the Johnson wing (where we have built a new small staircase to improve access to that part of the building). Along with moving the Gift Shop a bit we will add a small grab-and-go satellite coffee shop for items that don’t require on-site preparation (e.g. coffee, cold drinks).  This will help to decompress the busy café and speed up service for those who just want a quick drink.

JM4 & JM5 clinics:  Expect to complete end of SUMMER 2012
Work is well underway behind closed doors on this beautiful, patient-friendly clinic space with views over the downtown area and waterfront. 

Brock 4—Pulmonary Function Testing Lab:  Completion date TBA
Due to begin shortly.

Johnson 4—Cystoscopy Suite:  Expect to complete NOV 2012
This involves moving part of the Urology Clinic from KGH and will be one of last pieces of the project to be completed, likely late 2012.

September, 2011
$20 million redevelopment project powers ahead
Hotel Dieu Hospital’s $20 million redevelopment project remains on budget and on schedule as construction crews tackle the task of building an 8-storey elevator tower and stairwell on the south side of the hospital. Less visibly but just as steadily, crews are also making good time in transforming shelled-in space on the fourth floor into examination rooms, registration areas, teaching pods and waiting areas designed for specialized outpatient clinics now and into the future.

Temporary entrance
After months of demolishing and removing existing roof and floor slabs in the hospital’s Johnson wing, construction crews are now erecting formwork and pouring concrete for a new elevator shaft that will enhance vertical access within the hospital. 

With the usual Johnson entrance out of service, patients and visitors are being directed to a temporary entrance just up the street. Inside the hospital, signage directs people as necessary. The hospital’s auditorium remains open during this six-month period. 

Further inside the hospital, a maze of stud walls on Jeanne Mance 4 clearly outlines extensive new clinic space—including waiting areas, exam rooms, procedure rooms and nursing stations that promise to be flooded with natural light. 

Before dry walling can begin, construction crews have to finalize installation of electrical infrastructure and mechanical systems designed to serve sophisticated technology use in the clinics now and coming down the line. 

“All of these systems are designed with an eye to the future,” says Project Coordinator Phil Kent of the Kingston hospitals’ Joint Planning Office.

“As the hospital moves to the next levels of technology in medical equipment and data management, this clinic space will be positioned to ramp up likewise. The same is true of things like mechanical systems, which have been purposely designed to evolve with the highest standards of patient care.” 

In early September, the hospital marked a milestone in its project when the Facilities Management Department relocated to newly renovated quarters on Johnson 0, a move geared to consolidating Facilities administration and purpose-built shops (e.g. paint, welding, general maintenance) in one location. A total of 7500 square feet was renovated in this phase of the project. The shops were previously housed in shelled-in space of Jeanne Mance 5. Their move opens the way for construction crews to transform that space into additional clinic suites that will help to accommodate the expected surge of 50,000 outpatient visits per year at Hotel Dieu. 

Hotel Dieu Hospital launches construction phase of $20 million redevelopment project

Helping cordon off the construction zone are (left to right): Georgina Thompson, Board Chair South East Local Health Integration Network; Ian Wilson, Chair Together We Can campaign; Dr. David Pichora, Chief Executive Officer, Hotel Dieu Hospital; Sherri McCullough, Chair Hotel Dieu Hospital Board of Directors; and The Honourable John Gerretsen, MPP Kingston and the Islands.

The Hotel Dieu Hospital project is supported by the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation’s $70 million Together We Can campaign, which is raising money to support the redevelopment of Kingston’s university hospitals, to purchase equipment and to fund medical research and staff education.

Hotel Dieu Hospital is the ambulatory care teaching hospital for Kingston and Southeastern Ontario, providing expert care to more than 500,000 people in the region.  Our specialized services include outpatient pediatrics, ophthalmology, diabetes education, breast assessment, day surgery, urgent care and mental health programs.  Affiliated with Queen's University, we are partners within Kingston's university hospitals, delivering quality health care, leading innovative research and training the health care professionals of tomorrow.

Leading Care.  Changing Lives.

L’Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu est l’établissement de soins ambulatoires universitaire pour Kingston et le Sud-Est de l’Ontario fournissant des soins spécialisés à plus de 500 000 personnes de la région. Parmi ses services spécialisés, mentionnons les services de pédiatrie en soins externes, d’ophtalmologie, d’éducation sur le diabète, de consultations relatives aux maladies du sein, de chirurgie de jour et de soins d’urgence, ainsi que des programmes de santé mentale. Affilié à la Queen's University, l’Hôpital est partenaire des hôpitaux universitaires de Kingston, fournissant des services de soins de santé de qualité, menant des recherches novatrices et formant les professionnels de la santé de demain.

Ouvrir la voie en matière de soins. Changer des vies.