South Shore Regional: Expansion & Upgrades

It's a good news day for the South Shore Regional. Preliminary work on a new patient-transfer elevator is underway while plans were also announced to expand the emergency department at the hospital. South Shore Health CEO Alice Leverman welcomed both announcements during a press conference this morning. Leverman says another elevator at the hospital will separate patients and staff from the general public. "Certainly it's going to give our patients privacy. Also, infection control is a big issue for us today. This will allow us to address any infection control issues that might occur when patients and the general public are being transported at the same time," The new elevator is estimated to cost around $2 million dollars and will be in place early in 2013. Meanwhile, South Shore Health also received $1.5 million dollars for planning and design work to improve patient flow in the emergency department. Dr. Greg McNally says expansions are badly needed. "It's a big step. It's obvious we need ambulance bay coverage so patients aren't being transferred out in the cold, we need better/bigger assessment areas and it'll make a huge difference to what we can provide to the patients of the South Shore," No word on when those expansions will begin.