The first phase of St. Boniface Hospital's new emergency department is now open to the public, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority says.
The new space was designed "in consultation with the community to improve patient and staff experiences while maximizing functionality and flexibility" and creating additional space for more patients, the health authority said in a Thursday news release.
The Winnipeg facility, which the news release described as inclusive and barrier-free, will have a number of features to improve patient care, including an expanded central resuscitation area and a dedicated diagnostic imaging suite with a new CT scanner and X-ray machine.
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There will also be private exam rooms in treatment areas, a dedicated area for mental health treatment, an expanded waiting room and triage area, and a dedicated ambulance entrance and parking bay for 10 ambulances.
New features also include a covered south entrance to reduce congestion, an improved south parking lot and a public-use outdoor garden space.
The St. Boniface Hospital Foundation contributed $10 million to the project, the news release said.
From August 2024 to August 2025, the vacancy rate for emergency department nurses at the hospital dropped to 7.3 per cent from 24.3 per cent, which the news release said will support the expanded capacity of the new department.
Staffing adequate: CEO
Nicole Aminot, the hospital's president and CEO, said the new emergency department is a "more dignified and humane space" that's three times the size of the existing department.
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Despite that increase in size, the hospital is adequately staffed to handle the patients the new emergency department is expected to see, with about eight additional nurses hired and previous vacancies filled, Aminot said.
She attributed the department's lower vacancy rate to successful recruitment and staff wanting to come work in the new "state-of-the-art space."
"The intent of this project was really to get into this century. We had the oldest emergency department in the city," Aminot said in an interview.
"But the supply and demand really remains unchanged, so time will tell if the space actually helps with wait times, but we are working with the system to reduce wait times."
The new space will include a number of features, including an expanded central resuscitation area, the health authority says. (Submitted by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority)
Those efforts include implementing initiatives from a provincial team focused on lowering wait times, which the hospital's chief nursing officer recently returned from, she said.
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"The real work only really started a few days ago — well, a few weeks ago, maybe. And so we need to give it time," Aminot said.
"The staffing is adequate, I would say. And if [people are] concerned about wait times, so are we. We are working on it and our plan is to get better."
Renovations have also started on the hospital's existing emergency department space.
While patients and the public will "continue to experience some construction-related impacts," including temporary pathways, that won't affect care delivery, the news release said.
The full emergency department is expected to be finished and operational in 2026.
[SRC] https://ca.news.yahoo.com/initial-phase-st-boniface-hospitals-185057448.html
