A solution to hallway medicine for York Region

New Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital will provide immediate relief for area, writes Dr. David Rauchwerger

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 3

As the chief of emergency medicine at Mackenzie Health, every day I see first-hand how necessary a second hospital is to western York Region.

Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital has one of the busiest emergency departments in the province and we were experiencing unprecedented volumes even before the pandemic hit.

While all hospitals across the province are challenged with hallway medicine, capacity pressures and long emergency department wait times, at Mackenzie Health, being in one of the fastest-growing communities in the province means additional capacity is even more desperately needed

Mackenzie Health has a concrete solution to addressing hallway medicine. When Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital opens, it will mean that King, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and surrounding communities will have access to two full-service emergency departments, core services and specialized programs.

The 37,000-square-foot Magna Emergency at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital will offer state-of-the-art equipment and technology, a four-bed emergency psychiatric unit (EPU) for patients in crisis and will feature a unique triage process.

All but the most critical patients will be quickly assessed by a nurse at one of five rapid triage stations before they’re referred to one of five care zones where they will be treated based on their care needs.

This unique, patient-centred model means emergency care will be streamlined and wait times won’t be impacted by more urgent cases.

We took what we learned about improving the patient experience at our existing Richmond Hill hospital and designed the Magna Emergency through the eyes of our patients. We know patients value their privacy and so treatment rooms in the Magna Emergency will offer private rooms with natural light.

Instead of curtains, doors will help give patients the confidence that their personal medical information is for their ears alone.

Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital sees the third highest number of ambulance visits in Ontario and we’ve improved on the time it takes to get patients out of an ambulance and into our care to under 15 minutes on average -- which is five to 10 minutes faster than other hospitals in our region.

Having six dedicated beds for patients arriving by ambulance behind triage in the Magna Emergency will ensure York Region Paramedic Services can get back into the field even faster while we begin caring for patients sooner.

No matter which of our two emergency departments patients go to, they can be confident they’ll receive the best possible care from our team of expert staff, nurses and physicians and a fully integrated electronic medical record across both of our hospital sites, allowing for seamless care.