Renovated health centre unveiled
Fort Smith facility gets roughly $30 million worth of upgrades
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 3, 2014
THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Fort Smith celebrated the grand re-opening of its health centre after roughly $30 million and four years worth of renovations to the facility were unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday.
Health Minister Glen Abernethy and Brenda Johnson, chair of the Fort Smith Health and Social Services Authority, cut the ribbon on Oct. 24. - photo courtesy of GNWT |
"We're so thrilled to be in this wonderful new building and to have all our services under one roof," said Phyllis Mawdsley, CEO of the Fort Smith Health and Social Services Authority.
"It's a really good feeling."
Originally built in 1979, the much-needed upgrades to the aging facility began in the fall of 2010 and proceeded in three phases to allow it to stay open while the work was being done.
Although the health centre remained operational throughout the renovations, Mawdlsey said it was a relief to have everything back to normal again.
Almost every room in the hospital, except for the X-ray room, was upgraded as a result of the renovations, Mawdsley said. With the work completed, the health centre now has a new laboratory, a new midwifery division, a new gynecology room and an additional trauma bed. The centre's rehabilitation and physiotherapy facilities have also been upgraded to allow it to offer more services to patients.
"Before we just had a little tiny room but now we have expanded. We have physiotherapy services, occupational therapy services, and speech language pathology services. So we have a wonderful big area for those services to be held now and equipment to match," said Mawdsley.
The health centre's IT infrastructure has also been upgraded to allow for more comprehensive filing system of electronic medical records.
"It's definitely expanded to offer better services," said Mawdsley of the revamped health centre.
The renovations have also made it possible for the health centre to provide two new services which were previously only offered off-site: the healthy family program and mental health and addictions services.
When it the move was first announced there was some concern from residents that transferring mental health and addictions counseling from the Jake Taylor Building would affect patient's privacy. However, Mawdsley said it has been the health centre intention to bring mental health and addictions counseling under its roof ever since the GNWT began offering the service in 2004.
Mawdsley added that having the counseling services in the building next to other amenities in the hospital will allow for a more complete delivery of services to clients.
"If someone is at the medical clinic but maybe part of their issue is they also need to see a councillor for mental health or that type of thing, they're right next door so they can be engaged," she said. "It's been a long time coming."
Other than a few minor improvements that remain to be completed and some items of furniture that still need to be delivered, Mawdsley said the health centre is now fully functional.
"I think Fort Smith has a very bright future in respect to health and social services care in the community," she said.
