London's Hospital Developments & Research

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$200 million for London hospital projects

Fri, August 31, 2007

New children's hospital, women's care centre to be built

By RANDY RICHMOND, SUN MEDIA



A massive hospital building project in London got long awaited approval yesterday to wrap up the bulk of the work, worth an estimated $200 million.

The province announced London hospitals can take bids on completion of a new children’s hospital and women’s care centre at Victoria Hospital and the final renovations at St. Joseph’s and University hospitals.

When that work is done, the aging South Street hospital can be closed.

“This is a very, very important milestone for the London hospitals and one that we have been waiting for quite some time,” Cliff Nordal, president of London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care London, said yesterday.

“This is the biggest piece of the project to happen. When this is finished, we move the staff and patients (from South Street) and we lock the doors. That has been an ideal talked about in this community for . . . a long time.”

The bids should be received this fall and work should begin next year, hospital and government officials said yesterday.

“This is a huge step,” said Chris Bentley, Liberal MPP for London West. “They don’t want me to throw out a number but . . . I suspect you are going to need upwards of $100 million and if someone said $200 million you might be in there.”

The first plans to restructure and merge London’s hospitals surfaced in the mid-90s, as the provincial government began retooling health care and insisting communities eliminate duplication at hospitals.

For the next 12 years, the restructuring and merging of facilities run by London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care London took place in fits and starts, with some deadlines — such as the expected closing of South Street in 2000, missed.

Symbolic of the amount of work still to be done is the empty 10-storey north tower at Victoria Hospital, where yesterday’s announcement took place.

“When this project is complete, this doorway will open into one of the most exciting new health-care facilities in Canada,” said Peter Johnson, vice-chair of the LHSC board. Besides the new home of the Children’s Hospital of Western Ontario, the tower will house a new birthing centre, neonatal intensive care unit and outpatient mental health care.

It will also house diagnostic labs, teaching facilities and a 350-seat auditorium.

The final phase of work at St. Joseph’s Health Care will see a 112,000-square-foot renovation and a 4,000-square-foot addition that will provide space for citywide opthamology services, diabetes, and ear, nose and throat services.

“This will provide much needed clinical space,” said Gerald Killan, vice-chair of St. Joseph’s Health Care board.

In an interview after the announcement, Bentley said the timing of the approval was not connected to the Oct. 10 provincial election.

Over the past three years, the province has changed its funding and bidding processes, reduced the share communities have to raise and given money for hospital construction, Bentley said

“We have been working very hard for the past three years to make today possible.”

The approval is not a blank cheque, Bentley added.

The bids will have to be evaluated, he said.

There will be some “cleanup” construction to do after this next phase, Nordal said.

This project doesn’t include the construction of two mental health facilities — one in London and one in St. Thomas — expected to go to tender in 2009.

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Tue, August 28, 2007

St. Joe's and LHSC were first and second in the province for patient satisfaction.

By RANDY RICHMOND, SUN MEDIA



London's hospitals have landed a satisfying one-two punch in patient care.

The city's two hospitals finished first and second in overall patient satisfaction when compared to Ontario's other 10 large, acute-care hospitals, according to an annual report card from the province.

St. Joseph's Health Care London earned the highest mark for the second year in a row. London Health Sciences Centre scored second.

"I think it is quite remarkable St. Joseph's should come out on top again and the next hospital to score highest was London Health Sciences," said Cliff Nordal, president of both hospitals.

"It is an acknowledgement of the staff and the physicians and their dedication to the patients we serve."

The two hospitals scored the highest marks in the overall impression patients had of their hospital experience.

St. Joseph's also scored highest marks in three other areas evaluating patient satisfaction: how well staff communicated with them; whether they were treated with dignity; whether they received the care they felt they needed.

The 2007 report on acute care hospitals in Ontario, prepared by the province and Ontario Hospital Association, examined 40 indicators including patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, quality control and financial performance.

The comparisons suggest some areas for improvement in London, Nordal said.

For example, LHSC scored low in financial performance.

But the report card covered a period when LHSC was struggling with several financial issues, such as its debt for a controversial energy-from-waste plant, Nordal said.

"There was nothing (in the report) that surprised us," Nordal said.

In February, the province gave LHSC about $64 million to ease its financial woes.

"We expect next year things will show improvement," Nordal said.

Under the clinical outcomes category, the two London hospitals scored at or above average compared to the other large teaching hospitals.

But the report also shows LHSC has a "slightly higher rate" of pneumonia and bedsores in patients after they are admitted.

"This would be an area the hospital would like to target," Nordal said.

Twenty-six out of more than 1,500 patients got pneumonia or bedsores after being admitted, Nordal said.

"When we see something where we aren't performing as well as others, we want to ask, 'Why would that happen and might there be something we can do about it?' "

A change in practices might improve the mark for next year, Nordal said.

A separate category examined how parents viewed the pediatric care their children received.

LHSC scored average marks for pediatric care, with Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto leading the nine hospitals in the category.

The province also released reports on rehabilitation and emergency care.

St. Joseph's earned among the highest marks in the province for patient satisfaction in rehabilitation.

"That is great to see," Nordal said.

LHSC wasn't ranked because it does not offer that service.

Both hospitals received average marks in emergency care.

"We were not surprised by that," Nordal said.

The comparison was done just after the emergency departments in London were moved and as the kinks were being ironed out, Nordal said.

"Staying average, in my view, is good."

Patient satisfaction at Ontario's teaching hospitals

Overall patient satisfaction at area small hospitals-

Overall patient satisfaction at area community hospitals-

Provincial average: 85.3

St. Joseph's Health Care London 88.6

London Health Sciences Centre 87.8

The Ottawa Hospital 85.7

Kingston General Hospital 85.2

St. Joseph's Health Care, Hamilton 85.1

University Health Network, Toronto 85.0

St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto 84.9

Hamilton Health Sciences Corp. 84.6

Sudbury Regional Hospital 84.6

Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto 84.5

Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre 84.0

Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto 83.9

Provincial average 89.1

Alexandra Hospital 89.2

Alexandra Marine and General Hospital, Goderich 86.3

South Huron Hospital Exeter supplied no response

-Fewer than 2,700 cases a year

Provincial average 82.8

South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Kincardine 89.1

Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance, Stratford 89.0

Leamington District Memorial Hospital 87.2

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance 86.3

Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital 86.1

St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital 85.2

Woodstock General Hospital 84.4

Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital 84.2

Bluewater Health, Sarnia 82.9

-Hospitals with more than 2,700 cases a year, but not teaching hospitals

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Mon, September 17, 2007

By JOHN MINER, SUN MEDIA



Medical researchers in London have made a discovery that could improve the odds of wounded soldiers and car-crash victims surviving their injuries.

The discovery by Lawson Health Research Institute scientists is that a hormone produced by the kidney can help maintain blood pressure and heart rate and limit tissue damage.

Dr. Raymond Kao said the hormone — erythropoietin — could be particularly useful on the battlefield, where it often isn’t possible to provide injured soldiers with blood products.

The research that involved four other scientists was paid for by the Department of National Defence.

“We want to give soldiers the best chance,” said Kao, the lead researcher who is also a Lieutenant Commander in the Canadian Armed Forces and a doctor in the critical-care trauma centre at Victoria Hospital.

At present, wounded soldiers are given a saline solution to keep their system functioning until they can be transported to a hospital for further treatment.

If further testing proves the hormone is effective, it could easily be added to the saline solution, he said.

Kao said he hopes to start a clinical trial early next year at London Health Sciences Centre to see if the hormone helps patients who have suffered blood loss in a motor-vehicle crash. Such patients can face delays similar to the battlefield in being transported to hospital, he said.

“If the result is as positive as our experimental model in a laboratory we would like to take this to the national level in a multi-centre trial,” Kao said.

Kao serves with the Canadian military as an active-duty officer and has served in the past in Bosnia, Africa and the Middle East.

The research team’s abstract on their discovery has been selected as one of four finalists out of 1,200 submissions to the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. The winning abstract will be announced in Berlin on Oct. 9.

[WaterlooInvestor]

You already had 2 other threads on this topic in the Ontario section, and have now just reposted the same articles:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=137041
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=137196

Is a 3rd thread really needed? :koko:

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Tech, health link proposed

Sat, September 22, 2007

Waterloo Region eager to tap into London's health research expertise.

By NORMAN DE BONO, SUN MEDIA



Canada's Silicon Valley is reaching out to London's technology community, wanting a closer, working relationship with researchers here. :tup:

Waterloo Region, which this week celebrated the expansion of global technology giant Google in its community, wants to tap into the heath-care research in London to grow technology industries in both communities, said John Tennant, chief executive of Canada's Technology Triangle, representing business in the Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo areas.

"There are strengths in London, in health care and we are talking about working together more closely," Tennant said yesterday.

Waterloo does not have a medical school, as London does, and the work being done at the Lawson and Robarts research institutes as well as the Integrated Manufacturing Technology Institute at the University of Western Ontario's research park, offers opportunities to expand technology research, he added.

"There are plenty of opportunities to collaborate. In a global scale we are small players, we need to think about pooling resources," said Tennant.

Marilyn Sinclair, general manger of TechAlliance in London, welcomed the news.

"We always embrace the opportunity to work with tech communities in the region, we have to work co-operatively," Sinclair said. "We have laid the groundwork here to support growth in the technology sector."

In addition, the London Economic Development Corp. is holding a workforce development seminar at Conestoga College in two weeks, added Tennant.

"That dialogue (between London and Waterloo) is already happening on a number of levels. We are all interested in finding new investment opportunities," said Tennant.

As for Google, it is moving to the school's research park from a small office near the school, and is looking to add to the 20 software engineers who now work for the company.

"We have been in Waterloo two years now and want to strengthen our ties with the University of Waterloo," said Wendy Rozeluk, corporate communications manager at Google's Toronto office.

"We see Waterloo as the Silicon Valley of the north. We want access to that.

The University of Waterloo currently has the largest mathematics and engineering faculties in the world, said Tennant.

"This is a pivotal move for Waterloo Region. It makes a statement to the global community that world leaders in this industry see talent and opportunity here," he said. "This gives them the visibility and proximity to assist in their recruiting efforts. They want the best and brightest to consider a career with Google and the research park is an ideal location for that."

As for its name, a "googol" is the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros, says Google's website. "The term was coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of U.S. mathematician Edward Kasner, and was popularized in the book, Mathematics and the Imagination by Kasner and James Newman," a company history said.

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Province confirms operating support
The provincial government said Friday The University of Western Ontario will receive $6.1 million in additional operating funding, confirming the university's portion of a $150-million pledge for higher education as outlined in the 2009 provincial budget.

“This important investment in challenging times will allow Western to remain focused on student success, and on world class research that is changing lives and strengthening our economy,” said Western President Paul Davenport.

London-Fanshawe MPP Khalil Ramal said Western and Fanshawe College, which is to receive more than $3 million, are being supported in response to higher-than-expected enrolment.

In 2008-09, Western received $266.4 million in operating grants from the Ontario government, up 63 per cent from 2002-03, said Ramal.

The Reaching Higher plan, announced in 2005, has provided Ontario universities with predictable funding until the end of the fiscal year 2009-10, although annual amounts had to be confirmed in each new budget. In the 2009 Ontario budget, despite a tough economic climate, the government set aside planned increases in operating funding for 2009-10.

“We are excited by what has been achieved to date and enthusiastic about working with government on the next phase of a long-term operating plan,” said Paul C. Genest, president of the Council of Ontario Universities.

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Research building's name reflects $5-million gift from hockey superstar.
Eric Lindros announced his retirement from NHL ice with a flourish, punctuating it with a $5-million donation to London Health Sciences Centre. The gift, the largest known one-time charitable donation from a Canadian sport figure, was recognized today with the unveiling of the Lindros name atop of the building at University Hospital.:cool:

Read the full news release at the London Health Sciences Foundation
http://www.lhsc.on.ca/About_Us/LHSC/Publications/Features/Lindros.htm

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French multinational food company pouring $7 million into London probiotic research :tup:

Fri, May 22, 2009

One of the world's largest food companies is pouring millions of dollars into probiotic research in London, a move scientists hope will lead to the city becoming the North American epicentre for development of beneficial bacteria products.

Paris-based Danone announced tonight it's spending $7.5 million to establish a research chair in probiotics at the Lawson Health Research Institute.

The money will pay the salary of Lawson scientist Dr. Gregor Reid, who has gained international recognition for his probiotic work, another scientist and a research assistant.

So-called "good bacteria," probiotics are micro-organisms that can provide health benefits when added to food.

The Danone investment could be just the beginning of a relationship with the European company that ranks No. 1 in the world in fresh dairy products and is known in North America for its yogurt.




Danone is looking to expand its presence in North America and might establish a research and development centre here, Reid said.

"Time will tell. It is certainly under discussion."

Reid said London is ideally situated to become a major probiotic development centre with its strong medical research community and hospitals surrounded by a prime agricultural area.

Danone executive Bernard Hours said the company has just set up a research centre in the Netherlands, but a North American centre will be necessary and London is a top contender.

"We will have to organize something in North America. (London) is the place it is likely to be developed," Hours said in an interview after a speech by Archbishop Desmond Tutu at a St. Joseph's Health Foundation gala at the London Convention Centre.

Danone vice-president of research Sven Thormahlen said his company has developed many partnerships with scientists in Europe, but has few in North America.

"We identified Gregor Reid as one of the few North American researchers who had focused on research of probiotic bacteria," Thormahlen said in an interview from Paris.

Danone was also impressed with the work of Reid in Tanzania where he set up a project to manufacture probiotic yogurt to improve the lives of women with AIDS. Thormahlen travelled to Tanzania to see the work.

"We share with Gregor Reid the philosophy that we want to improve the conditions for society in the markets that we are in," Thormahlen said.

"I hope as this project moves along it creates a strong base for Danone research in North America."

At present, Danone's probiotic products contribute more than 2 billion euros a year to the company's sales.

Thormahlen said he anticipates probiotics could be expanded into products beyond the current dairy ones.

Though the company is paying for the research chair, Reid said he will remain an independent researcher.

"The emphasis is on science."

Dr. David Hill, scientific director of Lawson, said Danone's investment creates a probiotic research position in perpetuity at Lawson.

"It is a very sizable investment and a mark of confidence in the probiotic work at Lawson. We see it as a mark of a strong, emerging relationship."

[ldoto]

With patient wait times the highest in the London region and well above provincial targets, the province is pouring cash into University Hospital to alleviate the problem.

More than $1.1 million was allocated yesterday to the London hospital for improvements it has made already and to encourage more.

About $900,000 was provided under a "pay for results" program that rewards improvements and $277,000 to help London Health Sciences Centre reduce offloading delays at emergency rooms at both University and Victoria hospitals. The latter money will pay for additional nurses to care for patients who arrive by ambulance and still face delays.

The funding was announced by Deb Matthews, Liberal MPP for London-North-Centre.

Matthews said the government has been working to reduce wait times, which can be "very frustrating" for patients.


"We have a ways to go," she conceded, as hospitals continue to struggle to reduce waiting times.

The Health Ministry keeps track of wait times at hospitals and publishes them online at http://www.health.gov.on.ca/transfor...s/wait_mn.html.

As of last December, the provincial target wait time (including treatment) for minor medical issues was four hours and for complex matters involving "diagnosis, treatment or hospital bed admission" was eight hours.

The figures showed the actual wait times at University Hospital were 6.4 hours and 20.8 hours respectively. At Victoria Hospital, the wait times were 5.1 and 11.8 hours, also above the provincial target.

"This clearly recognizes there is a problem," Matthews said, adding times are gradually being reduced.

"We know how to do it," she said, noting wait times have been reduced nearly 30 per cent in recent years.

Matthews said by publishing wait times the province is showing its commitment to reducing them and is spending money to achieve reductions.

The money to reduce wait times follows another announcement this week of $24.5 million being spent across the region to ensure seniors get the treatment they need at home or in seniors facilities.

The money was intended to ensure seniors have an alternative to occupying hospital beds.

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Tutu backs bid for AIDS facility

Desmond Tutu, one of the world's leading proponents of HIV research and caring for AIDS patients, has endorsed London's bid to be the home for a $90-million AIDS vaccine manufacturing facility.

In an interview with The Free Press, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former archbishop of South Africa noted there are four contenders for the plant and said, "My vote would go to St. Joseph's."

The facility will be paid for by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the federal government.

London's hospitals and the University of Western Ontario submitted a bid for the facility in March. The other contenders are Winnipeg, Peterborough and Laval, Que.

Ted Hewitt, UWO's vice-president of research, said Tutu's backing is a significant boost for London's bid.


"Any endorsement like this, especially from a world leader like Archbishop Tutu, is phenomenal. It will have an impact," he said.

Tutu has been in London this week as part of St. Joseph's fundraising speaker series.

Hewitt said Tutu is intimately knowledgeable about issues surrounding AIDS in Africa.

"For him, who understands the importance of a facility like this, to endorse London's bid to create the world's only not-for-profit AIDS vaccine manufacturing facility for trial lots, it is just amazing. I am incredibly impressed and thankful," he said.

The bids from the four contenders will be reviewed by an international panel of experts who will weigh the scientific evidence and make a recommendation to the Gates Foundation and federal government, Hewitt said.

"We will just have to keep our fingers crossed and see what happens," he said.

An AIDS vaccine developed by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang at Western is moving into the first phase of human trials in the U.S.

The first black Anglican archbishop in South Africa, Tutu became famous for his stand against apartheid. He headed the country's truth and reconciliation commission and has been an international advocate for AIDS patients.

Yesterday, he said part of the reason he agreed to speak in London was St. Joseph's compassionate record of treating AIDS patients.

"In the 1990s, they were pioneers, really, in the treatment of people with HIV and AIDS at a time when they were being ostracized and stigmatized. This institution has had a history of caring for those who are marginalized, who are on the edges of our society," he said.:yes:

[ldoto]

Mon, June 8, 2009

HEALTH CARE: A provincial agency is planning changes in the London region


Mike Barrett knows he's walking a minefield.

The chief executive of the South West Local Health Integration Network, Barrett is leader of the provincial agency working on The Blueprint, a plan to overhaul the health system in the London region.

"It is about having the right services, in the right place, at the right time, by the right provider," Barrett says.

But any change in health care runs the risk of triggering a public explosion, such as experienced in neighbouring Erie-St. Clair LHIN when a report recommended closing the emergency department at Petrolia. The town's family doctors promptly resigned in protest and the plan was abandoned.

Barrett says the South West LHIN board, which oversees health care in a region that includes almost one million people, is treading carefully as the blueprint is drafted over the next few months.




"Hospitals and health care are very near and dear to the hearts of communities," he says.

"When you start talking about any change to a hospital or service, the reaction can be intense," says Barrett.

That might turn out to be an understatement.

It will be impossible to please everyone, with an agency whose influence ranges from the number of beds in a cancer unit to how often elderly people receive supplementary care in their homes.

Both the process and the LHIN itself have critics, who see the bodies created by the provincial Liberals three years ago as a way for politicians to dodge the political heat when health care cuts are made.

"It is a good way for the government to hide . . . They hide behind the LHIN, yet they appointed these people," said Kathryn Gordyn, co-chairperson of Strathroy-Caradoc and Area Concerned Citizens, a group that has fought local hospital cuts.

When beds are cut, MPPs say they're not the ones doing it, she said.

"They say, 'We didn't do it, it is the LHINs.' But they are doing it. When you pay the piper, you call the tune. It is as simple as that," Gordyn said.

Gordyn questions the expertise of the non-elected LHIN board to make far-reaching health decisions.

The South West LHIN board includes a retired nurse, former medical lab technologist and a clinical psychologist. The other members are a retired municipal administrator, a veterinarian, a former Ontario Hydro human resources officer, a retired school principal, university business professor and a former school board trustee.

Barrett doesn't want to talk about what the cuts might be, or about who might be the winners and losers, in an exercise that is to be completed by Oct. 28, when it goes to the LHIN board for approval.

"The message we want to deliver is we are improving health care for everyone because it shouldn't be about winners and losers. It should be about ensuring people have access to those services that they need locally, but also better access to those services that are provided on a regional or provincewide basis," Barrett says.

Still, he says, only so many centres will provide specialized care.

"You can't have the expectation that it is going to be provided in all of our 19 public hospitals that exist across the South West LHIN," he says. (The 20th hospital under the LHIN's mandate is a private one in Woodstock.)

To design the blueprint, the LHIN board has struck a 16-member committee that includes hospital officials across the region, physicians and service agencies.

It has held a two-day private session with 150 health-care providers in Owen Sound and has scheduled another session in London today and tomorrow. They are not open to the general public or the media.

That is being followed up with 11 public forums in July in communities from Lion's Head to St. Thomas. Six more public sessions are scheduled for September.

"People will have an opportunity to say what they would like to see," Barrett says.

John Miner is The Free Press health reporter. john.miner@sunmedia.ca

It is a good way for the government to hide.

Kathryn Gordyn, co-chairperson of Strathroy-Caradoc and Area Concerned Citizens, a critic of LHIN

LHIN by the numbers

Budget: $1.8 billion

Population served: 910,000

Counties served: 8 -- Middlesex (includes London), Elgin (includes St. Thomas), Huron, Perth, Grey, Bruce, Oxford, Norfolk

Provides funding to:

- 20 hospitals

- 1 community care access centre (South West CCAC)

- 72 long-term care homes (6,636 beds)

- 62 community support services

- 2 community health centres (with three in development)

- 28 mental health agencies

- 14 addiction agencies

[ldoto]

Wed, June 10, 2009


A new state-of-the-art dialysis unit was officially opened at University Hospital this afternoon.

Medical officials said the advanced system will increase patient safety.

Other features of the unit, that was supported with private donations, are aimed at improving patient comfort.

The unit is on the third floor of University Hospital.

[ldoto]

Update!!!


London's drive to become a bigger medical innovation centre has hit a pothole, with rejection of its bid to build Canada's $88-million HIV vaccine plant.

But the city has also lost a race with no apparent winners.

Three other Canadian centres were also being considered for the high-tech manufacturing jewel that was to be built with a $28-million donation by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The rest of the money was to come from the federal government.

"My understanding is there will be no facility built. The $88 million that was allocated for the construction of the HIV vaccine pilot plant will now be taken off the table or allocated for other purposes," Ted Hewitt, vice president of research at the University of Western Ontario, said Tuesday.

UWO was informed London's bid had been rejected in a phone call late Friday from Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer and head of the Public Health Agency of Canada. No reasons were given.

Hewitt said he's learned through contacts at other centres they were also rejected.

Winnipeg, Peterborough and Laval, Que. were the other contenders.

"We find that to be very disappointing," Hewitt said. "We believed strongly in the need for the facility."

The pilot vaccine plant was a key part of Canada's strategy to find a vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS. The facility was to be used by researchers around the world.

London's bid had been endorsed by Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a key international player in the fight against AIDS.

Lack of such a centre in Canada to help make vaccine for tests had been identified by the Gates foundation ‹ founded by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates ‹ as a major roadblock to developing an effective vaccine for AIDS.

The Public Health Agency of Canada didn't respond Tuesday to Free Press requests for comment on the situation.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation declined to comment, saying the Canadian government officially speaks for the initiative.

"We are very much hoping now the government will make a formal announcement and fully outline its reasons for canceling the project," said Hewitt.

Western, which was working with the city's hospitals and London Economic Development Corp. on the bid, was certain it had the best proposal, Hewitt said.

But the university had also made it clear to the federal government and other applicants that if another centre was selected, it would work with the winner to help strengthen capacity to deliver on the program, Hewitt said.

"We had similar assurances from other applicants, as well, that if we were to be chosen they would join our initiative," he said.

London Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best said the federal decision leaves a lot of question unanswered and doesn't make a lot of sense when the Gates Foundation was putting up a major portion of the money.

"I would be extremely disappointed if that money was left on the table when I know any one of the cities could have built the facility and done a good job for Canada," she said. DeCicco-Best said the government now needs to be open about why the project isn't going ahead. Peter White, president of London Economic Development Corp., said months of work and a substantial money went into the bid.

Western had been invited by the federal government in November 2008 to submit a proposal.

"We are disappointed . . . We know we put together a great bid," White said. White declined to disclose how much money was spent. Other centres were reported to have spent more than $100,000 on their bids. "It was a considerable amount of money because we had to bring in specialized consultants," White said. "It was a long process that required a full-fledged business plan for an $88-million initiative.

[MolsonExport]

well that really sucks.

[sparky212]

that really does

[ldoto]

Needing a big shovel

Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Joe Preston, and Ontario Attorney General and London West MPP Chris Bentley, joined a number of families and community leaders recently in celebrating the start of construction on an $8.5 million expansion and renovation to the Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario. The house was the recipient of a $5.2 million grant that will provide two-thirds of the funding required for the expansion of the facility. Since 1985, Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario has been providing a home away from home to families of sick children. The expanded facility will allow the House to accommodate the needs of up to 34 out-of-town families of seriously ill or injured children who are in London to receive life-saving medical treatment.

[ldoto]

A greater focus on mental health


The blue tarp came up off the sign just inside the Commissioners Rd. entrance to Parkwood Hospital, and with it, a new focus and investment into mental health treatment for London and southwestern Ontario.

On Jan. 21, Infrastructure Ontario and St. Joseph's released a request for proposals to three companies short-listed to design, build, finance and maintain two new mental health care facilities which will be located in London and St. Thomas.


"Our facility here at this site is a large facility at 400,000 square feet with 156 beds with the capacity to go to 168 beds," said Cliff Nordal, president and chief executive officer of St. Joseph's Health Care.

The St. Joseph's Regional Mental Health Care, London facility will be constructed adjacent to Parkwood Hospital. Its specialized programs will accommodate impatient and outpatient longer-term mental health services for assessment, mood and anxiety disorders, psychosis, dual diagnosis, geriatric psychiatry and adolescent psychiatry, serving southwestern Ontario.

St. Joseph's Regional Mental Health Care, St. Thomas will be a new hospital for forensic mental health, built on the existing lands in St. Thomas. It will provide specialized inpatient and outpatient forensic services, including assessment, treatment, outreach and support services to individuals with a mental illness who may have come into significant contact with the criminal justice system.

London's new facility will be a significant departure from the current design in both rooms and care.

"It is designed to have living space for patients with private rooms, which is not the case presently. As they progress through therapy, they will be able to integrate with more staff, and of course visitors, through what is called a neighbourhood area within the facility to help with re-integration. And there is a further step called the downtown, where they can start to do some of their own activities, including a little bit of shopping providing further integration with what will eventually be a discharge into the community," said Mr. Nordal. "This is the current kind of thinking in mental health at meeting centres elsewhere in the country, so we are able to bring that philosophy of recovery into London in a new facility."

Michelle Campbell, chief executive officer of St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation, says the project represents a real step forward in how the community views mental health issues.

"I think the first step for us will be to talk to the community about the needs of mental health and what the face of mental illness is. There continues to be a social stigma related to mental illness and we want to make sure we open that up and help people understand the extent to which it is an issue in Canadian society and our local community," says Ms. Campbell. "We think these are exciting new plans and an exciting new vision for mental health and it is really going to be something that people will want to play a part in."

When completed the new project will mark close to $1.2 billion dollars worth of infrastructure investment spent in the region. The announcement also came on the heels of the provincial's government throne speech indicated there will be a new way hospitals will receive funding.

"It is time to take a look at how we fund hospitals, and I am pretty excited at how we are going to do that," says Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and MPP for London North Centre. "We are committed to three things, access to health care, the highest quality health care available and as we look ahead we need to make sure that every dollar we spend on health care goes to improving health care for people, and focus on what is best for the patient."

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At this point, Mr. Nordal says there is no a clear understanding of the government's new funding allocation.

"We are aware of the population based method, and then there are the payment by patient (method) and they really are two different funding streams that are coming along," says Mr. Nordal. "The first is by population base, there will be an allocation to the LIHN (Local Integrated Health Network) itself to reflect the population base and the aging population. And from there, there will be an allocation to the hospitals will go after, so that will start maybe this year, certainly next year. And we have anticipated that kind of process for some time. The other one relates to payment by patient and it is much more complex."

The two new facilities will also be seeking a silver certification within the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) standard. LEED standards focus on healthy indoor environments, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and efficient use of energy, water and other resources.

"Clearly, this is pretty exciting what it (LEED) will do, it will help keep their operating costs down and be better for the environment, it is a terrific initiative," Ms. Matthews says. "It is the way of the future and just makes sense to do it."

Energy conservation – and fiscal responsibility – will be two key focuses of the new project.

"The facility is being designed in a manor that will be very energy efficient both in terms of summer and winter power use," Mr. Nordal says. "It will recycle energy, as air is exhausted, heat is being reclaimed, it will look at how we deal with water. This is really the kind of emerging design in healthcare and it is the first one in London."

London, Mr. Nordal says, has seen a significant amount of restructuring of services and renewal of buildings over the last number of years.

"Here we are building more capacity, we are going to have put in place $1.2 billion which is a benefit not only for care, but also one of the largest economic drivers for the city itself."

[ldoto]

NEUROSCIENCE: Adrian Owen, who will join Western in January, has shown comatose brain-injured patients can communicate

Last Updated: May 18, 2010 8:16am

A superstar among the world's neuroscientists -- who's also leader of a rock band -- has been landed by the University of Western Ontario.:tup:

Considered Western's biggest recruit ever, Adrian Owen was introduced to about 200 members of the university community who accorded him a standing ovation on his 44th birthday Monday.

"I can't imagine a better present than this," Owen said of his appointment as Canada Excellence Research Chair, effective Jan. 1.

The Brit and four of his top researchers at Cambridge University are being funded by a seven-year grant totalling $10 million from the federal government.

Owen has done pioneering work in which he has been able to communicate with brain-injured patients believed to be in a vegetative state. His research is expected to have wide implications for medicine and in law.

University president Amit Chakma raved about the researcher he said is "at the very forefront of his field."

For his part, Owen said the research and the facilities at Western sealed the deal for him when he visited some time ago.

"These are absolutely fantastic facilities, like I had never seen before," he said. And the researchers were doing important work.

"On research grounds alone, this is a real no-brainer, if you will pardon the pun," Owen joked.

His wife, Jessica Grahn, a noted neuroscientist who studies ties between music and the brain, will be appointed to the department of psychology.

"We have been blown away by the enthusiasm and support shown for us," Owen said. "We can't wait to get here in January."

Chakma said Owen's appointment will further boost Western's reputation as a world leader in neuroscience and imaging.

The researcher and his wife share similar professional interests but also team up in another way.

Owen is a lead singer and guitarist in a rock band. Grahn is a cellist in the band.

Asked if he plans to resume his musical avocation in his new city, Owen didn't hesitate: "That's very high on my list of priorities."

Owen's research showing patients considered in a vegetative state can have thoughts and also communicate was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February, attracting wide international attention.

More recently, in the journal Nature, he published results of other research that showed "brain training" video games do not make players smarter.

In his work, Owen will also study cognitive deficits in patients suffering from diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's Alzheimer's and ALS (Lou Gehrig disease).

Melvyn Goodale of Western's Centre for Brain and Mind said he and his researchers are "absolutely delighted . . . over the moon," at Owen's appointment.

Goodale said he expects Owen will work closely with local hospitals and the Robarts Institute.

Owen was one of 19 world-renowned researchers the federal government announced have chosen to pursue their work under the Canada Excellence Research Chairs program.

Each chair will receive up to $10 million over seven years to support their research and staff.

[ldoto]

The Federal Government is injecting new funding into Southern Ontario's knowledge-based economy.

This morning, at the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario, Federal Minister of State Gary Goodyear and London West MP Ed Holder introduced a new $75 (m) million program.

"Our government's new Technology Development Program will create jobs and promote economic growth in southern Ontario," said Minister Goodyear. "This program will create partnerships between businesses, colleges, universities and community organizations to bring promising new technologies to market more quickly."

The 4 year program will encourage post-secondary institutions, as well as private companies and not-for-profit groups to work together to generate leading technology.

"Canadian universities are doing research that is changing our world," said Ted Hewitt, Vice-President, Research & International Relations at Western. "By working in partnership with industry and other organizations, we can sharpen competitiveness and develop solutions more effectively and faster."

[ldoto]

The London Health Sciences Centre and Children's Hospital are welcoming a new doctor to the team.

Dr. Paul Gibson is a paediatric oncologist/hematologist and he's chosen to practice in London fulltime.

"The recruitment of Dr. Gibson fulfills our goal of having a full complement of paediatric oncologists at Children's Hospital," says Dr. Lawrence Jardine, Department Head, Paediatric Oncology/Hematology Program.

"His passion for clinical care and his expertise will greatly enhance our ability to treat children requiring cancer care. We are very proud to have someone of his calibre choose to be a part of Children's Hospital."

Of the over 400 children diagnosed with cancer every year in Ontario, approximately one in six are treated at Children's Hospital.

Health Minister and London-North Centre MP Deb Matthews introduced Dr. Gibson at his news conference at the Victoria Campus Friday morning.

"In addition to the exceptional care provided by Children's Hospital, the numerous community groups and agencies which partner with the hospital are also to be commended for the crucial role they play in the provision of care and support of children and their families throughout their cancer journey."

Dr. Gibson is a graduate of the University of Guelph, and completed his medical degree at Queen's University. He completed his Paediatric Residency at the B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

During the past year, Dr. Gibson has worked at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto as an attending staff in the Solid Tumor Program, while working occasionally at Children's Hospital

[MolsonExport]

Wow. A-M deC-B should be all over this!!

[ldoto]

Creation of the Breast Care Centre at St. Joseph's Hospital will allow London to attract the best and the brightest specialists, says the head of the project.

"When you have the best in technology and you really have the best of staff available, that is the place where the best and brightest want to come,"

said Dr. Don Taves, a radiologist at St. Joseph's and professor at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Taves said the centre - a project 10 years in the making - will bring together technologists, nursing staff, administrative staff, radiologists and surgeons on one site, along with high-tech diagnostic equipment.

"The resources we are looking at are relatively expensive and from an imaging standpoint particularly, they are expensive. We need to use those resources wisely," he said.

For surgeons, who now see patients at St. Joseph's, University and Victoria Hospitals, it will be a dream come true to have their patients at one site in the city, Taves said.

It will also allow surgeons to combine their expertise, he said.

The new centre, to be opened in phases, is designed to tackle the long waits for breast-cancer patients in London, which are double the Ontario average.

Women here currently wait anywhere from 49 days to more than five months from the first abnormal imaging test to cancer treatment.

Taves said consolidating diagnostic and surgery at one site will make the centre more accountable to the government and patients.

"It will be our job. We can't pawn it off and say somebody else should be doing it," he said.

Under the plan, hospital-based breast screening, diagnostic assessment and surgery services - now provided at St. Joseph's Health Care and London Health Sciences Centre - will be consolidated at St. Joseph's.

Ontario Breast Screening Program sites outside of the hospitals will continue to be offered at those community sites.

Radiation therapy and chemotherapy will remain at the London Regional Cancer Program at the Victoria Hospital site.

The first steps in creating the breast care centre are already underway, with the move of diagnostic assessment services to St. Joseph's Hospital.

The entire project is expected to be completed by Sept. 2011.

Fact box Hospital-based breast screening, diagnostic assessment and surgery services - currently provided at St. Joseph's Health Care, London and London Health Sciences Centre - will be consolidated at St. Joseph's.

Timetable:

October 2010: Hospital-based breast screening, diagnostic assessment for women found with an abnormality, surgery clinics and breast surgery will move into existing space at St. Joseph's Hospital.

March/April 2011: Hospital-based breast screening will move to Parkwood Hospital.

Sept. 2011: Once renovations are complete, diagnostic assessment and surgery clinics will move into a specially designed breast care centre at St. Joseph’s Hospital.


What's not moving?

Radiation therapy and chemotherapy will remain at the London Regional Cancer Program of London Health Sciences Centre. Ontario Breast Screening Program sites outside the hospital setting will continue to be available.

[ldoto]

London will soon see its own version of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

This makeover, however, is different.

The overhaul of one house will help accommodate more than 800 families.

The Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario launched the final phase of its Extreme Expansion campaign at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn on Friday.

The federal and provincial governments have committed $5.2 million in stimulus funding to the project. Corporate and private donors also have stepped forward to put London’s Ronald McDonald house closer to its goal of $8.5 million.

The house at 741 Base Line Rd. E. serves as a home away from home for families whose children are receiving medical treatment in London.

For the Broad family, the house was a lifeline.

In 2006, Jacob Broad was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma and leukemia at the age of nine.

Jacob’s parents, Steve and Karen Broad, said they travelled back and forth from Wallaceburg while their son was being treated in London.

Their stay at the Ronald McDonald House meant the family could be together in a comfortable environment during a difficult time.

“It’s important when your child is that sick for you all to be as a family. Our other kids would come up on the weekends and they would also stay at the Ronald McDonald House. That helped all of us to just get through it, “ Karen Broad said.

“The house was kind of like a safe haven from the hospital because the hospital’s so busy . . . Just to get away from there, even for half an hour was nice.”

Steve Broad said many families need the kind of help his family received. He said some families stayed in nearby hotels when the house was full.

“They always had people staying at the Lamplighter. There was always more demand on the house, for the size of the house.”

Steve Broad is excited about the upcoming expansion because it will help more families.

“If we didn’t have the house, I don’t know what we would have done.”

Jacob Broad, 13, has fully recovered. He is happy to have had his family by his side during his treatments.

“It was really nice. It really took the pressure off from having cancer. It made me forget about having it quite a bit, so it wasn’t as bad as everyone would think.”

He thinks the house and staff are amazing.

“You can really feel the love.”

The new Ronald McDonald House

When the $8.5-million expansion is completed, the house will help 800 families a year, an increase from the current 400.

The number of bedrooms will increase to 34 from 17 rooms. The current space of 17,000 sq. ft. will more than double to 37,200 sq. ft.

The expanded facility will re-open in March 2011. :cheers:

Go to rmhsouthwesternontario.ca for information on how to donate.

[ldoto]

London will be home to a $28-million national centre being set up to capture a bigger share of the global medical imaging market for Canada. Announced in Ottawa Monday, the London-based Centre for Imaging Technology Commercialization and Research will help newly-formed and existing medical imaging companies become internationally competitive. It's estimated the market for medical imaging equipment and software is more than $20 billion a year and growing by 4% a year. Canadian companies now have less than 1% of that market.

"The focus will be on commercializing imaging technologies across Canada," said Aaron Fenster, director of the imaging research labs at the Robarts Research Institute in London and the Canada research chair in biomedical engineering. "There are enormous opportunities," Fenster said. The decision to base the national centre in London confirms the high quality of the research done at the University of Western Ontario and Robarts, said Peter White, president of the London Economic Development Corp. "It's an exceptional announcement for London," White said.

Part of the centre's work will be to help university professors to forming spinoff companies to take their research to market. "We also need to invest in making sure the small companies that are spun off become successful and don't get out-competed," Fenster said.

Expertise provided by the centre will include software, clinical trials experience, and regulatory support. Medical imaging covers a wide range of methods used to create images of the human body and its functions, often to diagnose ailments and diseases, X-rays and ultrasounds are forms of medical imaging, along with MRI scans, which generate images from external magnetic waves directed at the body, and nuclear imaging, which relies on electromagnetic waves emitted from within using a radioactive marker introduced into the bloodstream.

Canada faces stiff competition in medical imaging from Europe and growing competition from China, Fenster said. The centre, based out of UWO, will hire about 30 people, including engineers, software developers and managers. "They will be high-quality jobs," Fenster said. The federal government is putting up $13.3 million for the centre, with another $14 million coming from other sources such as industry giant General Electric and the Canadian Institute for Cancer Research.

Both UWO and the University of Toronto, which have large labs and state-of-the-art facilities, have been active in spinning off imaging companies, Fenster said. "We have been active, but we need to become more active," he said.

[Kokkei Mizu]

That's great to hear!! I wonder where the centre will be built...

[MolsonExport]

thanks for all the positive news, Ldoto!

[ldoto]

What are they building at the Parkwood Hospital,Victoria Hospital & Children's Hospital. They have some cranes up there for about 2 mouths!!!:shrug: :shrug:

[Snark]

It's the replacement for the Highbury Hilton going in there. Three great things about this:

1) Patients get a state-of-the art facility.
2) Lots of patients get to be transferred to local facilities closer to home (such as K-W, which finally get real facilities for folks in such need).
3) The lands of the current facility are up for grabs. Any number of interesting proposals are afoot...


What are they building at the Parkwood Hospital,Victoria Hospital & Children's Hospital. They have some cranes up there for about 2 mouths!!!:shrug: :shrug:

[Simpseatles]

What are they building at the Parkwood Hospital,Victoria Hospital & Children's Hospital. They have some cranes up there for about 2 mouths!!!:shrug: :shrug:

I think the cranes near Victoria Hospital are for another parking garage.

I didn't realize that the ones at Parkwood were for a new regional mental health facility. If that means that the land on the current one is really up for grabs then I can't wait to see what could be placed there. There are so many possibilities, I mean the tract of land it takes up is HUGE! Accept, are the buildings there of any historical significance?

[ldoto]

Update!!!!

New mental health centres to cost $830M

One of the region’s largest construction projects will reduce patient beds in the area

One of the London-area’s largest construction projects ever, it’ll also mark a new era in regional health care.

After 10 years’ planning, St. Joseph’s Health Care London and the province have chosen a consortium led by homegrown contracting giant, EllisDon Corp., to build new mental health care facilities in London and St. Thomas.

The $830-million project includes a new 156-bed, 456,000-sq.-ft. mental health care treatment centre that’ll be built just south of Parkwood Hospital and replace aging Regional Mental Health Care London, formerly London Psychiatric Hospital, on Highbury Ave.

A specialized 89-bed facility — about half the size of the London complex — will be built in St. Thomas for forensic mental health care, dealing with patients involved in the criminal justice system.

That project will be built on the grounds of the Regional Mental Health Care St. Thomas and replace the existing facility.

The two projects are expected to create 400 to 450 construction jobs.

The contract will be the biggest EllisDon has taken on in London since the company — builder of hospitals across North America, and of such monumental works as Toronto’s SkyDome and London’s Canary Wharf — was founded in London 60 years ago.

“It’s probably one of the biggest projects this city has ever seen,” said Brian Waltham, EllisDon’s vice-president for Southwestern Ontario.

The new facilities will usher in much-improved mental health care, said Sandy Whittall, vice-president of mental health services at St. Joseph. Institutional wards and communal washrooms will be replaced by comfortable private rooms with a view of London’s Westminster Ponds.

“It brings (patients) a sense of independence and respect. There will be lots of light coming into the rooms, so there’s a real sense of hope and encouragement,” she said.

As they progress, patients will move through the building with different levels of care facilities dubbed “house,” “neighbourhood” and “downtown.”

The “downtown” area will be in front of the building and include a cafeteria, retail outlets and auditorium.

“It will demonstrate the recovery philosophy of care that they can see themselves, progressing and moving back out into the community,’ said Whittall.

The 245 total beds at the new facilities will be fewer than the 441 beds now available LPH and St. Thomas.

Whittall said a restructuring plan has transferred some of those beds to facilities in Kitchener, Windsor and Hamilton and St.-Thomas Elgin General Hospital.

The remaining shortfall of 70 beds will be handled by moving patients into the community and treating them as outpatients.

Whittall said St. Thomas handles some forensic patients but will now specialize in that function.

She said the St. Thomas forensic facility will have security appropriate to handle minimum- to medium-risk cases. A facility in Penitanguishene handles patients requiring maximum-level security.

The consortium will provide the upfront financing to build and maintain the projects. The provincial government will pay the developers back over a 30-year period.

Construction will begin in a few weeks and should be completed by Dec. 2014.

BY THE NUMBERS

$830 million: Total cost

30 years: Provincial payback time to developers

450: Construction jobs

156: Beds at new London facility

89: Beds at new

St. Thomas facility

441: Bed-total now

[MrSlippery519]

Does anyone know what they will do with the old LPH? They have quite a large amount on land off Highbury will be interesting to see what happens there.

[ForestryW]

Does anyone know what they will do with the old LPH? They have quite a large amount on land off Highbury will be interesting to see what happens there.

http://www.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Planning_and_Development/londonpsych.htm

[MrSlippery519]

http://www.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Planning_and_Development/londonpsych.htm

Thanks man appreciate it. Seems like Oxford will be "student type" housing which makes perfect sense.

[Highinthesky]

Great news for London and St Thomas. Both communities needed something like this.

[new age]

Thanks man appreciate it. Seems like Oxford will be "student type" housing which makes perfect sense.

What would make you say that the cities plan calls for live&work mixed use buildings and medium density retirement homes.

Three blocks in the North East corner are recommended for use by Fanshawe. The rest of the neighborhood is meant to be an extension of the urban center of the city. Most of the houses will be out of the price rang of students; except for some of the high density along Highbury and at the corner of Oxford.

[MrSlippery519]

What would make you say that the cities plan calls for live&work mixed use buildings and medium density retirement homes.

Three blocks in the North East corner are recommended for use by Fanshawe. The rest of the neighborhood is meant to be an extension of the urban center of the city. Most of the houses will be out of the price rang of students; except for some of the high density along Highbury and at the corner of Oxford.

That is where I was referring to

[new age]

My bad, I agree the areas on the outside edges will be very attractive to students (lets hope there attractive too.) The buildings that is; hell the students to. lol

Seriously this has great potential, and looks to be a holistic approach to the neighbourhood.

[manny_santos]

From the London Free Press:
http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/03/18/17669896.html

‘Here, I have to wait forever’

PATIENTS LOSING PATIENCE

By RANDY RICHMOND, The London Free Press

Raised in Communist Romania and now a London scientist, she has a unique perspective on Ontario's health-care system.

It's not one Ontario's Liberal government would like to hear.

"Romania is rich in resources, agriculture and oil. Yet everybody was starving under the Communist regime," says Joanne Smith (not her real name).

"It was not because of a lack of resources, but a mismanagement of resources. I think it is the same with the medical system. It is just not effective."

Even worse, our system seems cold and out-dated.

Smith has visited medical facilities in the U.S. and Romania, trying to get help for her daughter.

In the U.S., she wasn't as surprised by the short wait times and the focus on the patient - evident in the Patients Bill of Rights posted on doorways and suggestion boxes in hallways of the Detroit Medical Centre.

After one procedure, "I got a thank you card all the nurses and doctors signed. 'Thank you for choosing the Detroit Medical Centre,' " she recalls.

"You feel you are important. Your feelings matter."

In Romania, she saw three specialists in one day.

"I was really shocked. All three had better equipment than I have seen in London."

Smith doesn't want her real name used, for personal reasons not related to her medical journey.

She's an accomplished scientist and University of Western Ontario professor who professes great love for her adopted country, which gave her a home and freedom after spending her early years in Romania.

Two journeys through Canada's medical system, however, have the logical Smith frustrated.

In October 2009, she began experiencing severe stomach pains.

Her doctor referred her to a lab, where technicians offered her an appointment in January.

"You must be kidding," Smith says. "I am doubling up in pain and I can't get even a test done until January."

She found a company to arrange an appointment with a specialist in Detroit. A few days later, she received a full diagnosis and returned to Canada with a treatment plan that solved her problems.

A few years later, Smith went looking again for help for her daughter. The young girl had enlarged adenoids that made it difficult to breathe through her nose.

The girl had trouble sleeping and suffered sore throats and sinus trouble.

So Smith went to her family doctor and got a referral to a specialist.

The specialist said an operation wasn't worth the trouble and the girl would outgrow it.

A year later, Smith visited her homeland and decided to see what doctors there said.

All three said the adenoids had to come out - the sooner, the better.

So Smith returned to Canada and got referred to another London specialist. The first available appointment was in 18 months.

She then tried to get to a specialist in Strathroy. It was now August 2010. The earliest appointment was the end of November.

"That was just the first assessment. I was thinking, it will be at least six months later until I get the procedure."

Smith found another company that could send her to a U.S. specialist.

She got an appointment in September and in November - a few weeks before her scheduled appointment with the Strathroy specialist - the surgery was done at Detroit Medical Centre.

"I went in the morning and by three o'clock we were back on our way to London."

The cost, including the specialist appointment, was about $7,000.

If she had stayed in Canada, "I'd probably still be waiting for the surgery."

Smith doesn't think the system necessarily needs more money.

"Romania is not a well developed country. I can get anything done whenever I want. Here I have to wait forever."

Smith is no fan of the U.S. system, where lower income people can't get proper health insurance.

But Canada needs a system that has a bit of competition for medical professionals, perhaps a merit system based on patient feedback, she says.

Smith says doctors and nurses need to work a little more quickly and effectively, getting rid of the "la de dah" mentality she sees in long coffee breaks and nurses chatting while emergency rooms fill up.

Most of all, Canadians need to start demanding change, Smith says.

"I love Canada, but the health system is in bad shape. I don't really understand how more people don't complain. Maybe they think it's so good; it's for free," Smith says.

"Well, it's not for free," she adds. "I spend half my salary for taxes."

E-mail randy.richmond@sunmedia.ca, or follow RandyRatlfpress on Twitter.

Discuss.

[manny_santos]

To get the ball rolling, from my experience dealing with London's hospitals with regards to various family members, I found staff at St. Joseph's to be far more professional in both their treatment of patients and their dealings with family members. I do not wish to get into specifics on a public forum but I have always found LHSC staff to have a poor attitude towards family members. They don't even care what family members want; you have to get in their faces and demand things just to get things done, and even then they take a condescending attitude towards everyone involved. This is why the Baby Joseph fiasco does not surprise me in the least.

I've never been a fan of the American health care system, but I seriously think we need something in between Canada's broken system and America's unaffordable system. Some countries have a graduated payment system, where everyone goes to the same hospitals but what you pay is based on your ability to pay. The poorest pay nothing, and the richest pay full price, with several other price points in between. I know patriotic Canadians are uncomfortable with the idea of tiered-payment health care because it's part of our identity, but sometimes we need to take off our ethnocentric blinders for a moment as it is easy to assume our own country's system is the best one.

[Pimpmasterdac]

I've personally been to both St. Joseph's & LHSC. Aside from the waiting time that plagues both institutions, I have nothing but positive things to say. Both treated me and my family with professionalism and compassion that people would expect from health-care providers.

With regard to the Baby Joseph fiasco, I wouldn't be quick to jump on LHSC for how they handled the dilemma. I have family members who work in Victoria and Baby Joseph caused all sorts of headaches. Because lawyers we involved nurses had to constantly watch over the baby, while reducing their time on other patients.

As far as "not caring what family members want" that's a very simplistic view. Baby Joseph has a terminal illness, that sadly he will die from and NOTHING can be done to stop this. The family wanted a Tracheotomy which is a very painful, expensive and operation that is only done where its medically needed. In Joseph's case its not medically need or warranted, its something the family with no medical training themselves want. IF LHSC had proceeded, it would bring scrutiny to why there doing unnecessary procedures and if anything happened could open them up to a lawsuit!

When he was moved to Michigan, the hospital there also agreed with LHSCs diagnosis and refused to preform a Tracheotomy as well. It's only now with the issue being a springboard for "pro-life" religious groups that are using baby Joseph as a means of bashing Canadian healthcare that a religious group has agreed to pay for everything and found a doctor in Missouri who would perform the operation.

Agree with you on Canada's healtcare system. The status quo simply unsustainable, heathcare costs are predicted to eat up more than 60% of provincial budgets. Canadians wanting to have lower taxes but expect the same level of social services is not realistic. Some from of a private or tiered system will ultimately have to emerge if we are to have a sustainable healthcare system. Unfortunately all political parties have been telling Canadians they can have their cake and eat it too when it comes to healthcare costs escalating and taxes decreasing!

[ForestryW]

I personally have experienced only LHSC and Ottawa General, but I can say that LHSC is paradise on earth compared to OG. The staff are kind and helpful, the service is relatively prompt and efficient.

I agree, though, that overall Canada's healthcare system is broken. We spend 40 cents of every tax dollar on health care and we still can't seem to get it right.

[manny_santos]

As far as "not caring what family members want" that's a very simplistic view. Baby Joseph has a terminal illness, that sadly he will die from and NOTHING can be done to stop this. The family wanted a Tracheotomy which is a very painful, expensive and operation that is only done where its medically needed. In Joseph's case its not medically need or warranted, its something the family with no medical training themselves want. IF LHSC had proceeded, it would bring scrutiny to why there doing unnecessary procedures and if anything happened could open them up to a lawsuit!

I'm not referring only to Baby Joseph. I'm also referring to how family members of mine were treated when they went through LHSC. Two years ago my family had a very bad experience with the staff at LHSC, and we've had multiple poor experiences with them in the past. In short we felt that the staff there only cared about what they wanted, not the patient's best interests or what the rest of the family wanted.

[K85]

Nothing but positive for me and my family at LHSC. At St. Joe's, the past few months, I've had 2!!! surgeries canceled... both times I was prepped, and hooked up IV for 3 hours. I had to take time off work (3 weeks) each time for recovery, and had to fight to get those shifts back. 6 hours of IV and laying in bed getting anxious, only to be told no dice? Pissed. Only plus was that the surgeon was working on a cancer patient, so that helped with the anger.

That's St. Joe's in my eyes.

[Pimpmasterdac]

I'm not referring only to Baby Joseph. I'm also referring to how family members of mine were treated when they went through LHSC. Two years ago my family had a very bad experience with the staff at LHSC, and we've had multiple poor experiences with them in the past. In short we felt that the staff there only cared about what they wanted, not the patient's best interests or what the rest of the family wanted.

Fair enough, poor bed side manner and arrogance can be excesses of complacent people at the hospital. Although what the family wants/what THEY think is best from their subjective view, can be in direct conflict with the patient's best interests as viewed by the doctor objectively. I don't know your personal situation and its unfortunate you've had trouble with LHSC. I've heard of many examples in the past of uninformed family members thinking they knew best, that pestered doctor over medical issues that were highly complex to the average person and let emotions cloud better judgment.

I hate going to the hospital and try to follow doctors orders as best as I can to avoid future visits!

[ldoto]

RESEARCH

By JOHN MINER, The London Free Press


London scientists have received financial backing to investigate if corrupted prion proteins — already implicated in other fatal diseases — play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.

“We are looking at how this prion protein might function for Alzheimer’s disease and how other proteins that interact with the prion protein might be part of this whole neurodegeneration in the brain . . . We think the corruption of the prion protein plays a role,” Marco Prado, a scientist at the Robarts Research Institute, said Wednesday.

Prado and the research team at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry have received $600,000 from PrioNet Canada to investigate the possible connection.

If a connection with prions and Alzheimer’s proves true, the hope is treatments for Alzheimer’s may be developed. It is estimated that Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia cost Canada $22 billion a year.

A prion is a protein particle that is believed to be the cause of brain diseases, among them Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, mad-cow disease (or bovine spongiform encephalopathy), and chronic-wasting disease in deer and elk.

Prado said he expects the prion process involved in Alzheimer’s will be different than in the other prion diseases.

[jammer139]

Let's split apart and build new empires of administrative overhead to waste more taxpayer dollars. This will not end well. :koko: :hell:



https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/london-hospitals-move-to-sever-ties

[jammer139]

Another updated article in the LFP.


https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/london-hospital-boss-grilled-at-forum-over-ending-lhsc-st-joes-pact

[jammer139]

New seconded CEO of LHSC expected to bring changes.



David Musyj, chief executive of Windsor Regional Hospital, begins his new role as acting chief executive of London Health Sciences Centre this week. Photo taken at the Ouellette campus of Windsor Regional Hospital on Friday, May 17, 2024.


https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/new-lhsc-boss-expected-to-shake-things-up-watch-for-major-changes

[Djeffery]

Craig Needles did a quick 15 minute interview with him today for his podcast (available in the usual places or at londonnewstoday.ca). He says he's only here temporarily, and I bet there was a wink when he said that on the interview. He said it's just a regional collaborative thing (like how Windsor took COVID patients for Peel). Helped I imagine by the fact he's probably making double at LHSC.