Latest news with #SaultAreaHospital
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Study paints grim picture of worsening wait times in northern Ont. ERs
The median patient spent about five and half hours at the ER before they were discharged from HSN. A new study by the Canadian think tank MEI says new approaches are needed to deal with growing wait times at hospital emergency departments across Canada. In particular, it suggests adopting a model used in France, where separate clinics are set up to deal with emergency cases that are not life and death, such as bone fractures, sprains and serious flu cases. The study looked at the median times it takes patients to be assessed by a physician, as well as how long people spend in the ER, from the time they arrive until they are discharged. Timmins hospital to benefit from new lottery Included was data from hospitals in northeastern Ontario, where Health Sciences North in Greater Sudbury reported the longest waits. The median patient spent about 5 ½ hours at the ER before they were discharged from HSN. Results from other major hospitals in the northeast include three hours, 45 minutes at Timmins & District Hospital; four hours, 40 minutes at Sault Area Hospital; and, four hours, 56 minutes at North Bay Regional Health Centre. The study also looked at the length of time it took to get an initial assessment from a doctor in the ER. Timmins again had the shortest time – one hour, 43 minutes – followed by the Sault (one hour, 56 minutes), North Bay (two hours, 16 minutes) and Sudbury (two hours, 23 minutes). Results for all hospitals in northern Ontario – and Canada – can be found here. Krystle Wittevrongel, MEI's director of research, said in an interview that Canada's system of funneling all emergency cases to the same community emergency departments is partly to blame for the ER bottlenecks plaguing the system. Krystle Wittevrongel Krystle Wittevrongel, MEI's director of research, said Canada's system of funneling all emergency cases to the same community emergency departments is partly to blame for the ER bottlenecks plaguing the system. (Photo from video) While we do a good job of addressing critical cases as they come in, people with non-life-threatening but emergency cases are often left to wait several hours for care. One option would be to adopt a model used in France where separate, middle-emergency clinics are set up to handle serious but not life-threatening cases. The clinics are a midway point between walk-in clinics that can't handle emergency cases and the overwhelmed emergency departments at hospitals. 'We tend to see a lot of patients going to the emergency room for care that might not need to be there,' Wittevrongel said. 'They might have a more minor injury like a sprain or a strain that isn't necessarily emergency care but is a little bit much for primary care (physicians).' Middle emergency clinics She said France has had great success with this model, which is a better allocation of existing resources. Similar to walk-in clinics, the middle care centres would be publicly funded but independently run by doctors and nurses. 'Rather than being the same as an urgent care centre like the Province of Ontario currently has, it's more community-focused and so there's also more localized decision-making, (offering) more flexibility for those doctors and nurses.' She said the median length of stay in northeastern Ont. ERs is four hours, 14 minutes, which shows the differences in factors such as the number of hospital beds and staffing levels. By creating a system of middle-emergency care centres, hospitals in the north could potentially ease the demand on existing staff, making it easier to retain people. Read more on MEI's study here.
CTV News
16-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Rotary Club funds fetal monitors for Sault Area Hospital
Members of the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie present a cheque to Sault Area Hospital Foundation. Shown from left to right are Robert Carricato, Donna Carricato, Melinda Mills, Gabriele Scholz DiTommaso, Diane Marshall, club president Lynn Hollingsworth, and Paul Walz. (Suppled/Sault Area Hospital Foundation)
CBC
14-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
4 northern Ontario hospitals each get $10K from the RBC Foundation for nurse training
Hospitals in Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins, Lake of the Woods and Dryden all receiving the funding Four northern Ontario hospitals have received $10,000 donations from the RBC Foundation to provide new training for their registered nurses. The Lake Of the Woods District Hospital, Dryden Regional Hospital, Timmins and District Hospital and Sault Area Hospital have all received the funds, which they plan to use for different training programs. The Sault Area Hospital will use the money to train local instructors who can provide certification training to the hospital's 500 registered nurses. Sue Roger, the hospital's chief nursing executive, said the money will allow those trainers to travel to larger centres where they can receive the training they can then pass on to their colleagues. They will train nurses on two certification programs: basic life support and advanced cardiovascular support. "It's a big win for the organization," Roger said. "You know, folks don't have to take it externally. They don't have to pay for it. We can do all of that work here at the hospital." At the Timmins and District Hospital, the money will pay for a charge nurse leadership training program. "The charge nurse is very imperative in the health-care system," said Kim Bazinet, the hospital's director of clinical services. "She plays a pivotal role in managing patient care, supporting staff and in maintaining smooth operations on the hospital unit." Bazinet said the hospital is planning to start offering the course in June. "I think it's very important in healthcare, given the fact that it is Nurses Week, that we give the nurses the tools to be successful in their career," she said. Josee Jean, the Timmins and District Hospital's director of surgical services, said the training should also help with retaining current nurses and recruiting new employees.
