Urgent care calms patient despair

$1.7 million state-of-the-art waiting room comes complete with X-Box

An upgraded Urgent Care waiting area has been unveiled at Misericordia Health Centre with another first.

The urgent care facility opened in 1998 to ease the burden on an already stretched emergency medical system and put a stop to “hallway medicine”.

It was the first of its kind in the province, said Ron Hill of Misericordia Hospital.

At that time, it was envisioned the facility would serve 65 patients a day, but soon after opening they were serving up to 130 a day and 40,000 per year.

As such, patient waiting times were increasing to an average of two hours so an improved waiting area was needed to alleviate the stress on people who were already sick.

“The upgraded environment is a better fit for those in need in the community,” said Hill.

The new area includes a fireplace, aquarium, a cafe with a river view, access to the Internet and a separate children’s area which has an X-Box.

“I’m tempted to go down and try it myself,” Hill quipped, about the game console.

On the practical side, Hill said there’s a new first aid station to make triage more efficient.

And the only taxpayer funded contribution was an isolation room, which came with a price tag of $270,000.

“The government of Manitoba is pleased to have been part of this project with our contribution of the new Negative Pressure Isolation room,” said Minister of Healthy Living, Kerri Irvin-Ross in a media release.

It’s the only one its kind in the province, according to Hill, and will screen patients who show signs of contagious respiratory illnesses such as SARS.

The Misericordia Foundation raised $1.5 million of the project’s cost which began in spring.

Susan Skinner, the foundation’s executive director, said during construction a couple of minor hiccups occurred including a flood in the library and some heating problems, as well as confusion stemming from the Maryland Bridge maintenance.

But she emphasized the project ran smoothly and the hospital never lost track of its primary purpose.

“The reality is service continued and we remained patient focused,” she said.

She said it was challenging to raise the hefty amount with so many competing charitable causes, but numerous donors and contributors came to the aid of the hospital because there was a genuine need.

“It’s a message to our patients and staff,” said Skinner.

“They deserve an environment that’s about respect.”