SMGH Completes Front Entrance Redevelopment

Renovations improve access for patients and visitors

Members of the Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital (SMGH) Board of Directors, administration, medical staff, employees and volunteers gathered to celebrate the completion of the Hospital’s front entrance redevelopment on November 18, 2011.

SMGH received one-time funding provided by the Province of Ontario Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund to renovate the front entrance to improve access for patients and visitors. The redevelopment of the front lobby has resulted in more efficient flow of patient and visitor accessibility.

Pictured above cutting the ribbon to the new front entrance at SMGH (left-right): Paul Long, Chief Financial Officer for the MHA; Cheryl Waters, Chair, MHA Board of Directors; Judy Peters, Volunteer Coordinator; and Dan Forgetta, Acting Director, Environmental Services.

“We are thrilled to complete renovations on the front of the hospital in order to provide patients with enhanced facilities to meet accessibility and safety standards,” says Dan Forgetta, Acting Director, Environmental Services for the Middlesex Hospital Alliance.

The updated infrastructure to the exterior of the hospital now meets requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) with curb modifications to provide easier access for those using wheelchairs, walkers, motorized mobility or other devices as they arrive or depart. Radiant heated concrete will also prevent the accumulation of snow and ice during the winter.

The front entrance was completely removed and rebuilt in a new configuration that will also help meet the hospital’s energy related cost savings and environmental improvement objectives with LED lighting and more insulated building materials.

The Parking Attendant office has also been relocated to a more central location at the front of the hospital.

The project is one in a series of renovations completed over the past few years following an extensive review and evaluation of safety and energy efficiency at the hospital.

“We want to ensure our dollars go to our first priority, which is patient care,” says Paul Long, Chief Financial Officer for the Middlesex Hospital Alliance.

“Hospitals must be accessible for patients and they also consume a lot of energy, so there is a potential for savings but it’s only with the assistance of the Province and this one-time funding allocation that we were able to move forward and complete this project.”

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