Sunshine Coast physicians and staff welcome the latest addition to St. Mary’s Hospital

From left to right: Donna Shugar, Regional Hospital District Chair; Karen Scott, St. Mary’s Hospital/Health Care Auxiliary; Dr. Eddie Berinstein, Medical Director; Valerie Bourne, Sechelt Indian Band; Wendy Hansson, Chief Operating Officer, Vancouver Coastal Health; Peter Clayden, Treasurer, St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation, Gerry Latham, Director, Vancouver Coastal Health.

Sunshine Coast residents will benefit from new health care amenities as physicians and staff prepare to move into an expanded St. Mary’s Hospital on Monday.

“Thanks to the tremendous efforts of so many people, St. Mary’s will have state-of-the-art medical technology, superior standards of infection control and almost double the amount of space,” says Wendy Hansson, chief operating officer at Vancouver Coastal Health. “This will enable staff and physicians to provide the best quality of patient care to Sunshine Coast residents.”

Almost double its original footprint, the new St. Mary’s tower will include:

• Five new medical/surgical beds to recognize growing demand on the Sunshine Coast;
• Single patient rooms, each complete with its own sink and bathroom to minimize the spread of infection (this is a VCH first);
• A decentralized approach to supplies so nursing staff spend less time walking back and forth between the nursing supply station and a patient’s room;
• The Cerner Millennium Patient Information System, which will eventually be rolled out to all VCH facilities in the next few years;
• Larger emergency, radiology and ambulatory care departments.

This past Wednesday an Open House was held to thank Sunshine Coast residents for their generous contributions to the St. Mary’s tower project. Guided tours of the new facility enabled hundreds of individuals in the Sechelt area to see what’s in store for patients and families when the new building opens its’ doors on the 25th.