Story from Nova Scotia Health Authority
Work on the CBRM Health Care Redevelopment project is proceeding well. Here are recent developments with the project.
Leadership team
A senior medical director has been added to the leadership team. The team now includes:
- Dr. Kevin Orrell, senior medical director for the redevelopment project. He is also chief of the division of orthopaedic surgery at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. In his role, Dr. Orrell will collaborate with family doctors and specialists, NSHA staff, and communities to ensure the infrastructure being created will meet the current and future health needs of Cape Bretoners. More information on Dr. Orrell in the news release on this page.
- Mark LeCouter, senior director for the redevelopment project
- Mickey Daye, clinical director responsible for the redevelopment work in New Waterford and North Sydney
- Troy Penney, clinical director responsible for the expansions at the Glace Bay and Cape Breton Regional hospitals
- Lorianne MacLean, team project lead
- Leanne Fitzgerald, lead engineer
New advisory council
The leadership team is in the process of developing a Volunteer Advisory Council which will include representatives from Sydney, Glace Bay, New Waterford, and North Sydney to provide input on the project moving forward. Details to be announced in early February.
Planning meetings
Meetings to inform functional programming continue as the team meets with design consultants, engineering professionals and clinicians to help determine next steps and timelines. The functional programming process identifies things like the amount of space needed, projections on patient needs, and the scope and role of services that have been identified as part of both the hospital expansions and the new community health centres. The functional plan is used as the basis for the design work. Since the project was announced, dozens of meetings have been held with staff, physicians, provincial and municipal government representatives, community health boards, foundations, and other public and community groups to talk about the project, listen to concerns, answer questions, and get valuable feedback.
Community-Based Paramedic Program
The program started Dec. 17, 2018 at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital emergency department. The goal is to help qualifying patients safely transition back into the home after being discharged from the emergency department. The intent is to provide supportive care during the first 12 to 72 hours of a patient being released, which complements existing services such as VON and cuts down on the number of unnecessary trips back to the emergency department. Patients are referred to the program by emergency department doctors and nurses. Community paramedics and Telecare nurses will provide the follow-up services at home via virtual home phone visits or physical home visits. As of January 24, 14 patients have been referred to the program resulting in 33 in-person paramedic visits and two contacts by a virtual registered nurse. This initiative will expand after a program review and discussions with partners and stakeholders.
Questions about the project can be sent to cbredevelopment@nshealth.ca.