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New hospital is geared up for a lot of traffic continued from p.4 "It allows the ambulance to come through and bring the really sick patients in." The helipad at the new Oakville hospital is another feature welcomed by HHS staff. Previously, if a patient had needed to be airlifted for emergency care somewhere else (e.g. if a sick child needed to get to a pediatric hospital), that patient would have to be loaded into an ambulance and driven to the Oakville Ford Assembly Complex so they could make use of that facility's helipad. At the new OTMH, the helipad lies just 50 feet from the ED. In the acute area of the ED, the patient rooms are enclosed by glass sliding doors, which become opaque with the flick of a switch. This permits greater privacy, but also allows for enhanced infection control as infectious germs can be confined to the room. The existing hospital relies on curtains. Patients in this acute area are monitored with a tracker board, which can be viewed all over the department and pulled up on every computer. The board shows which patients are occupying which rooms, which physicians are looking after them, and information about their status, such as if they are waiting for diagnostics. This area also has its own waiting space. "What we have found, in the business of emergency medicine, is that when the waiting rooms get pulled inside the clinical space it moves patients through faster," said Martin. "The old style where everyone is out there -- out of sight, out of mind -- where they stack up and you bring them in as you have capacity, has given way to this more modern model of care where the patients are brought into the clinical space and it creates a certain pressure for flow." The ED also has equipment designed to help prevent the spread of disease in the event of a pandemic or outbreak. "We had a requirement when we built the department to be able to separate the department in a pandemic situation. So we have a full infection prevention and control barrier that allows us to seal off this side of the department from that side of the department," said Martin. "So, in an outbreak situation, you could cohort patients in one area of the department and they're separated from an infection and control standpoint. That is a completely new standard that is implemented here." While there is no shortage of new technology present in the new hospital, Martin said HHS is not done yet. The facility has been set up for electronic health records and plans are in place to change over from paper records in 2016 or 2017. With opening day fast approaching, Martin said the new OTMH and its ED are ready. "We are anticipating increased volumes (of patients). We've hired more nurses, more doctors. We're all taking a bit of a risk on that because from the physician side, we are funded based on the number of patients that come through," said Martin. "I think we're ready. We've been planning intensely for a decade and then the last three years through the build." 5 | Friday, December 11, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com A trauma treatment area in the new Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) Emergency department. | photo by Justin Greaves ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) Other sections of the ED have similar waiting spaces. Martin said the trauma rooms are outfitted with the latest clinical, diagnostic and monitoring equipment. Another important feature is the ED's diagnostic imaging pod, which features two general radiology rooms for x-rays, an ultrasound room and a CT scanner. Martin said the presence of this pod in the ED is a major improvement because if anything goes wrong with the patients as they get their scans, they are still in the ED and can receive care quickly. Another feature of the ED is the decontamination room where certain patients can be taken before they enter the department. Martin said this room will be useful for decontaminating someone, for example, who is covered in gasoline or someone who has been pepper-sprayed by the police. The ED also has a secured mental health unit, which differs from the existing hospital where all patient populations intermix. Furnace Keeping your home so comfortable..... le..... Tuneup he may never want to leave! $ + hst 99 Heating & Air Conditioning Residential or Commercial Heating & Air Conditioning Installation · Service · Maintenance. Call us 24/7 289-218-8504 Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year A STEP BEYOND IN CARE Do you have: Salima Kassam Reg. Chiropodist · Foot/Arch Pain? · Ingrown Toenails? · Diabetes? · Swollen Ankles? · Corns, Calluses? Call for an appointment 905-632-1414 728 Burloak Drive www.footandhealthclinic.com 220 Randall Street · Downtown Oakville · 905-842-2100 Peterwatsoninvestments.com