North Tower Renovations Complete
In August 2017, our community
celebrated the opening of the new
seven-storey, Michael Lee-Chin &
Family Patient Tower. We are all
proud of our new state-of-the-art
facility, which almost doubled the
original size of the hospital.
The new Patient Tower includes a
new Emergency Department, new
Intensive Care Unit, an expanded
Cancer Clinic, expanded medical,
surgical and outpatient services,
nine new and improved operating
rooms and additional inpatient beds.
Many departments relocated to the
new Patient Tower, which enabled
extensive renovations across many
areas of the existing North Tower.
Renovations to the North Tower have
supported the opening of Ambulatory
Care this year, which houses clinics
for patients who receive care without
being admitted to the hospital. The
clinics now operate in one location
on the first floor that was redesigned
to provide a new centralized
registration area, new patient care
rooms, meeting rooms, waiting areas,
clinic spaces and offices.
We frequently hear positive remarks
from patients who visit the new clinic,
such as: “it is so fresh and bright
when I come for my appointment in
Ambulatory Care,” as well as “the
staff provides excellent attention
to me as highly skilled clinicians”
and “being in such a beautiful care
environment makes my experience at
the hospital even better.”
The merging of these surgical and
medical clinics within one Ambulatory
Care space has allowed for ease of
care, alignment of resources, and
standardized scheduling practices. In
addition to providing the appropriate
care environment, the Ambulatory
Clinics have demonstrated decreased
admission rates, increased access to
care and wait time reduction.
The renovations also provided a
refreshed look and feel to the upper
floors of the North Tower, which
includes clinic spaces, Rehabilitation,
Continuing and Complex Care
inpatient units and administrative
offices. These renovations have
enhanced patient safety and
improved the patient experience.
The exterior of the North Tower was
renovated to enhance the aesthetics
of the building, as the North Tower
was originally built in 1961 and it
had not seen any extensive
renovations since that time. New,
larger windows increase the natural
light brought into the interior spaces,
supporting the wellness of our
patients, families and staff.
Annual Report 2018-2019
21