A message to our community, patients and visitors.

Friday, February 14^th at 3:30 p.m.

Remediation of the damage caused by the flooding that occurred on January 8^th 2014 at Charlton Campus is on track for the projected completion date of February 18^th.

Tremendous strides have been made in remediating and reopening vital departments at Charlton Campus including areas in our Surgical Centre, Emergency Department, Diagnostic Imaging and Medical Device Reprocessing Department.  This incredible progress is all due to our dedicated staff and external contractors, who have worked tirelessly to ensure our physical space was returned to top working order as quickly as possible for our patients.

Although this experience has been difficult, our collective transformational and innovative approach to the issue has garnered valuable lessons and processes that we hope will only improve our ability to provide patient-centred care in the future.

We would like to express our gratitude to our citywide and regional health system partners including Hamilton Health Sciences, the City’s EMS, and CCAC, who helped by working together to provide exemplary care for our community during this challenging time.

As always, the comfort and safety of our patients continues to be our top priority.We sincerely apologize for the anxiety and pressure they must have experienced as a result of this incident. 

Below is the current status of our operational capacity at Charlton Campus:

Restoration Progress

• Since the flooding occurred at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Charlton Campus, over 28 contained construction zones were identified for remediation. The projected completion date for remediation as a result of this incident at Charlton Campus is February 18^th 2014. 

Operating Rooms

• On Thursday February 13^th eleven of operating rooms in the Surgical Centre that were damaged by flooding were fully restored and are being used to perform complex surgical procedures.

• The sterile core that links our operating rooms in the Surgical Centre is also fully repaired and in use. 

• One operating room in the Mary Grace Wing will continue to be used to provide a full capacity of 12 operating rooms in service at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Charlton Campus.

• To serve our community, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton Charlton Campus surgical services has been operating an extended hours schedule. By today’s date of Friday, February 14^th, the majority of cancelled surgical cases have either been completed or have been scheduled.  A minority of low acuity cases remaining are being rescheduled by individual surgeon’s offices. 

  Please note: Patients will be contacted with respect to their surgery time and location for their procedure.

Emergency Department

• The Emergency Department at our Charlton Campus is open 24/7 and accepting all ambulance patients as well as walk-in patients. 

• Remediation of the Emergency Department due to flood damage at Charlton Campus is on track for the projected completion date of February 18^th 2014. Reorganization and realignment of the department’s workflow is ongoing.

• As of Friday, February 14^th approximately 60% of the emergency department remains hoarded while remediation takes place. 

• To increase our ability to care for patients, a Medical Surgical Assessment Unit (MSAU) has been opened on the 2^nd Floor in the Day Surgery overflow space. If you are visiting a loved one who is admitted to this space, this is what the entry to that unit looks like:

Diagnostic Imaging

• On January 27^th all five Ultrasound Suites that were damaged in the flooding were fully repaired.  Diagnostic Imaging is running on schedule. 

As we move forward, please note that this will act as our final regular update regarding flood remediation.

We encourage you to stay connected with St. Joe’s by  liking our Facebook Page or  following us on Twitter (@STJOESHAMILTON). 

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