2014 Year in Review

Building a state-of-the-art hospital for this region takes time. As Warren Buffet once said, “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” It may seem like not much has happened since the idea for a new hospital was raised in 2012, but behind the scenes 2014 has been a busy year.

Top 10 highlights:

1) Province approves moving ahead with Stage 1B of planning

Stage 1B, or the Master Plan, includes specific details about a site, services and finances.

Highlights of Stage 1B:

Selection of site for new hospital
Architectural master plans
Implementation plan and schedule
High level funding/financing plan including the determination of the local share component
Detailed analysis of services to be offered in the hospital or in other community locations
Plan outlining future use of existing facilities.

The goal is to complete Stage 1B sometime this year. As you can see in the diagram below, we are still at an early stage in a process that is expected to take 7 – 10 years.

2) Criteria determined for location of new hospital site

In order to pick the best possible site, all potential locations will be scored based on a weighted set of criteria. Before the criteria list was finalized, the public had a chance to take a look and provide feedback. Close to 600 people offered their thoughts and opinions through an online survey. As you can see from the chart below, the top 10 most popular responses suggest voters want a hospital that is easily accessible to all.

Place	Criteria	Total Points*
1	Proximity-EMS/Police/Patient Transfer/Disaster Preparedness	2,983
2	Parking potential	2,237
3	Transit Route	1,944
4	Service Catchment Area	1,750
5	Parcel Size	1,746
6	User Access	1,695
7	Relationship to other supportive Institutions	1,619
8	Helicopter Flight	1,614
9	Arterial/Collector Road Access	1,608
10	Neighbourhood Compatibility	1,495
*Scoring is based on a tabulation system rewarding 14 points for first place selections, 9 for second, 8 for third and on down to 1 for tenth.

For more information on site selection and the survey, please visit: Criteria for Site Selection

3) RFP issued inviting property owners to submit property for new hospital

Property owners were invited to submit land for consideration if they felt it met the criteria for the new site, which was clearly defined in a Request for Proposals. The RFP was issued in July, 2014. By the time it closed on October 1, 2014, more than 20 sites had been submitted for consideration.

MORE ON SITE SELECTION: This guest column from the Co-chairs of the Program and Services Steering Committee, David Musyj and Dave Cooke, outlines the process of site selection. This appeared in the Windsor Star on July 23, 2014.

4) Subcommittee chosen to recommend site for new hospital

This group of 11 volunteers from Windsor-Essex has one of the toughest, non-paying jobs around! Now that the RFP has closed, members of the Site Selection Subcommittee must examine and score all the entries that qualify, using the criteria defined in the RFP, and recommend the location that best meet the needs of this region now and for generations to come.

5) Fairness advisor hired to monitor the site-selection process

Glenn Ackerley is a partner at the Toronto firm, WeirFoulds LLP, and has a wealth of experience with contract and procurement law. He’ll act as an impartial set of eyes and ears monitoring the process from a perspective of fairness and transparency.

Ontario’s Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive does not require a fairness advisor in this case, however the Steering Committee feels it is important to do everything possible to uphold the integrity of the process and ensure community relationships are not negatively affected.

6) Vision and values determined for future planning

Planning what the new hospital will look like and what services it will include cannot happen until we move to the next stage in the process. However, based on discussions with many community groups, employees, volunteers, healthcare partners and other stakeholders, we’ve created a vision and set of values which will help drive the planning decisions made moving forward.

Click here for more on The New Single-Site Acute Care Hospital vision for Windsor-Essex.

7) Celebrated One Year Together

On October 1, 2013, Windsor Regional Hospital assumed responsibility for all acute care services in Windsor at both the Metropolitan and Ouellette campuses. This realignment was the beginning of a journey toward The New Single-Site Acute Care Hospital.

The goal on day one was to make this change as seamless as possible for patients. Thanks to hospital employees, who go above and beyond every day to provide outstanding care, this was achieved. This past year proves that by working as a team, and with the community’s support, we are ready to face the challenges ahead and embrace the opportunities of the future.

WATCH: Celebrating One Year Together Photo Album

8) The Standardization & Optimization Process (SOP) Journey Begins

After realignment we had two hospital campuses where staff performed many of the same jobs, often in very different ways. In order to standardize our services so patients get the same outstanding experiences at both campuses we began the SOP journey.

The Standardization & Optimization Process will:

Standardize care so patients receive the same outstanding care, regardless of location
Identify and implement best practices at both campuses.
Create a foundation of best practices that will eventually dictate the design of a new state-of-the-art acute care facility.
Strengthen the WRH team so staff can flow seamlessly between campuses.

9) Community invited to join the discussion

Community engagement is an essential part of this planning process. Consultants, who have worked on similar projects, say the process is “brave” because it is so inclusive. We believe it only makes sense, because this is the community’s hospital.

This past year we have hosted two town hall broadcasts inviting residents to phone us with their questions and we have met with many community groups to talk about the projects.

WATCH: Former CAW President Ken Lewenza adds his voice to the discussion at a presentation to local 444 retirees.

10) Blog created encouraging everyone to “Explore the Future of Healthcare”

Today’s hospital is patient friendly, efficient, modern and digital. We can tell you this, but we’d rather show you. The blog, Exploring the Future of Healthcare, invites visitors to take a virtual tour of the most innovative and advanced, state-of-the art hospitals in the province and beyond.