St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital President and CEO Karen Davies is scheduled to present a compelling pitch to members of Elgin County council on Tuesday morning.
Her presentation is titled, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital Case Case for a New Facility.
It is subtitled, Supporting the Growth, Health and Future of Elgin County.
“The need for a new hospital has become undeniable as our aging infrastructure and growing demands strain our ability to meet healthcare needs effectively,” notes the opening page of the handout.
The presentation by Davies “provides information and updates about STEGH and outlines the need for a new hospital to meet the evolving healthcare needs of St. Thomas and Elgin County.
The hospital relies on over 1,300 staff, physicians and volunteers to keep the 179-bed medium-sized facility functioning.
In the 2023-24 fiscal year, there were 831 births, 9,850 surgeries, 1.9 million lab tests, 19,467 outpatient/clinic visits and nearly 60,000 emergency visits.
Of those emergency visits, 10 per cent of the individuals come from London.
And, there were 550 substance-related emergency department visits, up 20 per cent from the previous year.
The document notes, “Our communities also have disproportionately high levels of primary care unattachment & access to home and community care, mental health and addictions. Hospitals play a substitution role in the absence of these services.”
The projected population of the city in 2051 is 79,500 with 20 percent aged 65 or older.
A shortage of primary care, home and community care services, and long-term care options impact hospital capacity.
Looking ahead to this year, over 57,000 emergency department visits are projected, equal to University Hospital in London.
The hospital opened in 1954 and aging infrastructure is a factor, having reached “a critical tipping point.”
According to the presentation, there is $42.5 million in deferred maintenance for the Main Building and $15.7 million for the South Building over 25 years.
The site is maxed out with no room for expansion, despite growing volumes and increased needs.
The document notes if the hospital was built to today’s standards:
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) would be 93% larger
- Emergency Department would be 42% larger and have 15 more patient rooms
- Acute inpatient would be 72% larger
- Pharmacy would be 61% larger
- Continuing Care Centre would be 138% larger
By 2033, the hospital requires 83 per cent more square footage, a figure that balloons to 149 per cent more in 2053.
The report refers to STEGH as “a hub for healthcare in Elgin County, supporting other regional hospitals with obstetrics and emergency care.
Davies made a pitch to city council in May 2023 focussing on capacity issues at STEGH.
She indicated hospital administration had applied for funding to undertake a capital development plan to address future growth.
Furthermore, Davies noted they were working with the Ministry of Health to determine a future direction.
“We’re trying to get a master planning grant so we can hire consultants to do that exact work for us.
“So, what is the feasibility of building on this site and then what would be the options be for a green field site as well?”
The present site is landlocked, limiting the options available to the administration, points out Davies.
“To redevelop the current site, as you can imagine, has its challenges, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
“And, in fact, the last submission (to the ministry) was to build a new tower on the current property and then once that new tower is occupied, then the old tower would come down.
“You know we’re not a large footprint here and almost half of our footprint is taken up by parking.”
Complicating matters at the provincial level is the fact the hospital underwent The Great Expansion in 2018 to the tune of about $100 million in funding.
The Doug Ford government is continually lambasted for its lack of investment in healthcare and with a snap election coming up in February and all eyes on pending tariffs, does this further shift the focus away from the problems at hand?
And, let’s not forget how much of this scenario is riding on the PowerCo EV gigafactory opening on schedule in 2027.
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A ‘WORRISOME TREND’ IN CITY SCHOOLS
In November 2021, then St. Thomas Police Deputy Chief Marc Roskamp – in an interview in this corner – pointed out, “It’s just there is no invitation for us to go to schools.
“It’s unsettling for us because we feel there is such value in being in the schools to reduce violence, bullying and with the drug talks.”
Roskamp was referring to Thames Valley District School Board trustees continuing with their collective finger on the pause button while dealing with the future of the School Resource Officer (SRO) program.
More than three years later the SRO program remains on hold while violence in schools is becoming “a worrisome trend,” stresses Police Chief Roskamp.
In the past week, a pair of city teens were charged following an altercation with a third individual at a city high school.
“Violence in schools is clearly becoming a worrisome trend, with teachers, parents, elected officials and the police advocating for change and a return of the School Resource Program in some revised form.”
Most recently, a 14-year-old student was charged on Wednesday after a weapons complaint the previous day.
Police were notified the student may have had a firearm in anticipation of an altercation with other students.
A search of the student’s home outside the city with the assistance of the OPP Tactics & Rescue Unit uncovered a BB gun.
There has been at least one additional incident so far this month, prompting Roskamp to issue the following statement.
“We continue to respond and investigate matters related to actual and perceived incidents of violence within our local schools.
“As previously reported, in 2021, our local school boards paused the School Resource Programs that had been in place for decades and offered a supportive police presence for the entire school community.
“Violence in schools is clearly becoming a worrisome trend, with teachers, parents, elected officials and the police advocating for change and a return of the School Resource Program in some revised form.
“Since 2021, reported calls for service to the STPS have risen by nearly 55% percent, with our officers attending schools once every two days.
“We will continue to meet and discuss our concerns with the community, both Directors of Education, Trustees and elected officials.”
There may be a light at the end of the tunnel as the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service in November of last year announced a renewed partnership with the Algoma District School Board and the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board that will herald the return of a full-time, uniformed High School Liaison Officer to local high schools.
You can read about that here.
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A key partnership aims to address the lack of affordable housing in St. Thomas
RETIREMENT PROMPTS DEPUTY CHIEF ANNOUNCEMENT
Still with the police service, there was a high-ranking retirement announcement this week.
Deputy Chief Scott Barnes will be stepping down in September of this year after a 30-year policing career. He began his career in 1994 with the Wallaceburg Police Service and then transferred to St. Thomas in 1998 and was promoted to Inspector in 2028 and then to Deputy Chief in 2023.
The St. Thomas Police Services Board announced on the same day Staff Inspector Steve Bogart will be the incoming Deputy Chief.
Bogart has spent his entire 27-year policing career in St. Thomas.
He was promoted to Inspector in 2020 and Staff Inspector in 2023.
Bogart will assume the role of Deputy Chief in an acting capacity on June 1 and officially assume responsibilities on Sept. 1.
NEW ANIMAL SHELTER: A STUDY IN FUTILITY
The route to a new city animal shelter has included more twists and turns than a spellbinding murder mystery novel.
In April 2022, members of city council were thrilled with the announcement of a $1 million donation from Sara Teare to kick off fundraising efforts for the city’s new animal services shelter.
Teare previously donated $500,000 for the naming rights at 1Password Park.
In June of that year, it was announced the city had awarded the architectural proposal for the new shelter to a+LiNK Architecture of London, one of whose founding members is St. Thomas resident Ed van der Maarel.
Prompting this observation from then-city engineer Justin Lawrence.
“So, we’re off to the races. We’ve started the design as of today and we hope to get work heavily into the design for the next six months and we should tender around December or January.”
Well, not so fast.
This project was initially tendered in March 2023. The tender closed on April 25, 2023, with a low bid of $3,007,000.
At that time, due to the existing project budget of $1.9 million, the tender was cancelled.
After languishing for more than a year, the project was put out to bid again in November 2024.
And, in a report to council for Monday’s (Jan. 27) meeting, the winning bid is to be announced.
Tonda Construction Limited of London submitted the lowest bid at $4,066,000.
That’s right, one million dollars more than the initial bid deemed too expensive.
You just have to know that if you shelve an undertaking for 18 months or so, the cost of proceeding is going to be considerably higher the second time around.
A fine example of your tax dollars hard at work.
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