November 21, 2007
Province To Redevelop Women's Hospital; Seek Public Input
The province is moving forward on its commitment toinvest more than $40 million to redevelop the Women’s Hospital at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and will be seeking input from members of the public concerning the new women’s hospital, Health Minister Theresa Oswald announced today.
“The new state-of–the-art facility will modernize health care for women, their babies and families, bringing all services together and providing quicker, better access to specialized care when needed. It will also ensure women from around the province will continue to receive the best possible health care by dedicated and committed doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals.” said Oswald. “The public consultations will give Manitobans the opportunity to participate in the development of the new facility.”
As part of the planning process, four public consultation meetings will be held to identify elements that Manitobans would like to see in an updated women’s hospital. Meetings will be held throughout Winnipeg in January. Members of the public who are not able to attend one of these meetings can share their views in January through a website, in writing or via a specially-established phone line.
“Women, their families and support groups want and need a facility that reflects the quality of care routinely provided by our health-care professionals,” said Brian Postl, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. “This new site will reflect and address the priorities of our staff and their patients.”
Helga Bryant, vice-president and chief nursing officer at the Health Sciences Centre, said getting the public’s opinion is an important part of establishing the new hospital.
“We want to know what women value in this type of facility and what we can include that will help make their stay or visit more comfortable,” said Bryant. “We want them to tell us what kind of environment will add to their experience.”
Built in 1950, the Women’s Hospital provides women from across Manitoba with access to in-patient and outpatient health-care services including obstetrics, an intermediate-care unit for newborns, a broad range of gynecological surgery and services, oncology services and mature women’s health care.
“Today’s commitment builds on our other investments in capital health-care projects and will ensure women continue to have access to high-quality health services in a state-of-the-art facility,” said Oswald.
Updated information including dates and locations of the consultations and further information on how Manitobans participate in the consultation process will be posted at www.wrha.mb.ca and www.hsc.mb.ca when it becomes available.
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