Wayne Arthurs, MPP for Pickering-Scarborough East joined hospital officials, staff, community members and health care partners to celebrate the opening of Lakeridge Health Oshawa hospital's new dialysis and inpatient medicine units today. This celebration marks the completion of the first phase of the hospital's current capital redevelopment project.

The new, fully accessible units will provide expanded programs and services to patients. This portion of the overall redevelopment project is an additional 20,000 square feet of treatment space over Lakeridge Health Oshawa's existing facilities.

Highlights of the new units include:

  • An increased capacity of 32 inpatient beds with in-room medical lifts;
  • State-of-the-art reverse osmosis room to purify water used in dialysis;
  • Capacity for a forty-station hemodialysis area;
  • More single patient and semi-private rooms for privacy and infection control;
  • Isolation rooms to help reduce hospital-acquired infections; and
  • Secured access areas for patient safety. 

Patients are expected to move into the new space within weeks. 

“This is a significant project that will serve the health care needs of Oshawa and Durham Region and also generate jobs,” said Wayne Arthurs, MPP for Pickering-Scarborough East. “Through expansion and redevelopment, Lakeridge Health Oshawa will continue to provide access to high quality health care for many years to come.”

“These bright and spacious new units offer much more than just a breathtaking view,” said Kevin Empey, President and CEO of Lakeridge Health. “With wheelchair accessible washrooms and ceiling lifts in every patient room, these floors greatly enhance the patient and family experience at Lakeridge Health and help our staff provide enhanced care to our patients.”

Construction on the hospital's overall redevelopment project began in March 2009 and it is more than 40 per cent complete. Currently, there are more than 150 local construction workers on site daily and the project is progressing towards completion in spring 2011.

“The difference between good health care and excellent health care is our donors. The opening of these two floors shows that our community is transforming health care through philanthropy,” said Foundation CEO Jim Szeman.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Lakeridge Health to redevelop and expand the Oshawa hospital, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable. Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the Province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information. 

Contacts: 

Terence Foran   
Infrastructure Ontario  
416-325-2939   

Leigh Winn-Kruck
Lakeridge Health
905-576-8711, Ext. 4317  
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