News Release
New Interim Long-Term Care Beds open at NHS Welland Hospital Site
- Date of Issue: Thursday, December 22, 2005
- Français
NIAGARA , ON - Niagara Health System's (NHS) Welland Hospital Site Woolcott Wing Unit today became part of an "interim long-term care home" with the addition of 40 new resident beds.
"We are thrilled to be able to provide this greatly needed service to the people of Niagara and in particular the residents of south Niagara," exclaimed Mrs. Debbie Sevenpifer, President and CEO of the Niagara Health System.
"With the size of our region's aging population, the demand for long-term care beds in Niagara consistently exceeds availability. These 40 interim beds are in addition to the existing 75-bed long-term care unit at the site," adds Mrs. Sevenpifer.
Long-term care residents are individuals who require 24-hour a day nursing and supportive care but not at the intense level that is provided in a hospital setting.
Nearly all of the residents who will move into the newly renovated facility will be hospital patients from across Niagara who are currently awaiting placement in a long-term care facility of their choice. Resident admissions into the new beds are now underway.
"There are currently 1,200 people in the Niagara community on a waiting list for a long-term care bed. On any given day, between 110 and 120 of these individuals are waiting in our 900 inpatient hospital beds across the health system," explains Mrs. Patty Welychka, Health Program Director, Transitional Care for the NHS.
"While these people wait in hospital for their long-term care choice, the inpatient beds they occupy are not available to care for more acutely ill people who require admission into hospital or a complex continuing care facility," says Mrs. Welychka. "This leads to longer wait times for surgical and diagnostic procedures and contributes to bottle-necks and ongoing pressures in our emergency departments. With the interim long-term care beds available, we now have the opportunity to provide these individuals with comprehensive and supportive care in a more appropriate home-like setting."
Mrs. Welychka adds that hospital-based patients who are moving into the new interim long-term care beds will reside there until their permanent home of choice becomes available. The interim long-term care unit is less like a hospital setting by providing patients with a more home-like environment which offers activities, recreation, and a dining area. This setting is better for patients as it keeps them more active, and it is one step closer to being transferred to the permanent home of their choice, she adds.
As the primary provider of hospital care in Niagara, the NHS provides inpatient, outpatient, emergency care, prompt care as well as specialized complex continuing care and long-term care services through its seven sites located across the region.