Provincial money to help pay for major expansion of Timmins ER

Timmins and District Hospital will get a new emergency department four times its current size. Lydia Chubak has all the details.

Within the next couple of years, the Timmins and District Hospital will have an expanded and renovated emergency department.

The hospital announced plans Monday for a $100 million expansion to expand the emergency department to four times its current size. The hospital’s share of the project will be about $20 million.

“The new state-of-the-art emergency department will include 29 acute treatment spaces in a modernized, comfortable space,” said Sylvia Jones, Ontario Minister of Health and Deputy Premier.

The plan also includes “improved infection prevention and control measures, and a dedicated area for emergency mental health care to connect more people to enhanced mental health and addiction support where and when they need it most.”

Will improve quality of care

Dr. Kyle Harper, chief of Timmins and District Hospital emergency department, said demands on the current ER exceed space limitations.

“Right now, our emergency department is operating at five visits per square foot, nearly double the provincial standard of 2.1 to 2.6 visits per square foot -- that’s unsustainable,” said Harper.

“This expansion will allow us to deliver quality of care in a space that can respond to the needs of our community.”

The hospital serves about 110,000 people, including First Nations communities. Officials said it was designed to handle about 20,000 visits, but it is currently receiving about 43,000.

Part of $60 billion plan

“Our people commute an hour to access emergency services here in Timmins,” said Chief Jennifer Constant of Mattagami First Nation.

“Waiting any length of time beyond that is difficult for anybody, especially in those states that they are in when they are arriving at the emergency room. So, I think that this is a wonderful project.”

Over the next 10 years, the province is spending nearly $60 billion on major health infrastructure projects. The Timmins ER project is one of more than 50 major hospital projects.

The expansion will require more employees and the province said it has already planned for that.

“We have a learn-and-stay program for paramedics in northern Ontario, as an example, that covers completely their schooling and their tuition, books and costs,” said Jones.

“That’s so that we can shore up and ensure that there are, for example, paramedics available for hire in northern Ontario. We have a very similar program that started ... in nursing province-wide. (At) the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, we’ve doubled the number of seats available for students who want to, train, practise and ultimately stay in family medicine.”

Once the final square footage is determined for the new emergency department, the project will be tendered and awarded. At that point, a construction schedule will be confirmed.