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Cornwall Community Hospital Turns 10

January 31, 2014
By Bob Peters

Cornwall Ontario – The Cornwall Community Hospital is celebrating 10 years of delivering quality health care to people in the City of Cornwall and region.

“The first decade for Cornwall Hospital has seen advancements that have positioned the organization as a leading health care provider for years to come,” said Jeanette Despatie, Chief Executive Officer of CCH. “The people – staff, physicians, and volunteers – that make up Cornwall Hospital have considered the needs, planned for the gaps, responded to challenges, and executed the strategies targeted at meeting the health care needs of the community.”

It was in 2004, that the Hospital assumed ownership and operation of the Cornwall General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Hospital. The consolidation of the two hospitals was directed by the Ontario Health Care Restructuring Commission to reduce service duplication and improve cost efficiencies. Patients saw the immediate benefits of the new complementary mission, vision, and values, and the provision of integrated health-care services.

The Hospital (CCH) continued to operate both the former Cornwall General Hospital site on Second Street East and the Hotel Dieu Hospital site on McConnell Avenue. The Hospital Foundation launched an ambitious campaign to raise $112 million to cover the cost of expanding and renovating the McConnell Avenue site.

In 2006 Emergency and Critical Care services were amalgamated at the McConnell site. Two years later the “Early Works Project” was complete which included renovations to the Critical Care Unit and the Birthing suites. These changes created significant opportunities in the areas of quality health care, as well as cost savings and enhancing the quality of life for all residents in Cornwall, SDG and Akwesasne.

In 2009 the major construction project began to transform the McConnell Avenue site. By 2010 there was a review to the mission, vision and values, along with new strategic directions that guide the organization to this day.

In 2013 the CCH opened the West Wing of the new hospital.

The Hospital has had undeniable progress over the past 10 years. Now fully immersed in the final phase of its redevelopment project, substantial and ongoing improvements are, rightfully, getting all the attention. Some of the vital initiatives that were completed included constructing a 95,000 square foot addition to accommodate the ED, a new CT scanner, an MRI, and new operating rooms.

CCH also invested in the expansion and renovation of the Women and Children’s Health Department and Birthing Rooms, all while earning the highest possible level of commendations – Accreditation with Exemplary Standing meeting 98 per cent of the necessary requirements – from Accreditation Canada.

“2014 will be memorable as we bid farewell to our construction friends, occupy our new build and the renovated space throughout the entire building,” added Despatie. “Our greatest celebration, however, will be the consolidation of our acute care team. This will be an excellent opportunity to advance our Work-life Culture initiatives with an aim to improve the patient experience. With construction behind us and the moves completed, we look forward to advancing our Continuous Improvement (CI) initiatives with staff and physicians throughout the organization.”

The Cornwall Community Hospital has historical roots that reach back beyond Confederation. Cornwall’s first hospital was the Hotel Dieu Hospital which opened in 1897 in the former residence of John Sandfield Macdonald,  Ontario’s first Premier. The Cornwall General Hospital opened in the same year. Both hospitals saw many improvements, relocations and expansions in the decades leading up the amalgamation in 2004.

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About the Cornwall Community Hospital

The Cornwall Community Hospital is an acute care hospital with approximately 133 beds, and offering a full range of inpatient and ambulatory care services. In a typical year, the Hospital deals with over 52,000 visits to the emergency department, performs 9,000 surgeries and conducts over 200,000 diagnostic/therapeutic exams. The hospital is also a teaching hospital and is associated with the University of Ottawa medical program.

More information on the hospital and the redevelopment project can be found at www.CornwallHospital.ca.

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