Modern ED brings hope to fast-growing Carleton Place

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Registered nurse Iris Rawlings paused and waved away tears as she led a tour through the shiny new state-of-the-art emergency department at Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital on Monday.

“This is such a beautiful space,” she said, looking around a private family room, which is part of the 11,600 square-foot emergency department that officially opened this week.

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The years since the beginning of the pandemic have been tough for health-care workers. The Carleton Place hospital, like many, has struggled with nursing shortages, forcing it to temporarily close its emergency department 15 times since August 2022 — something it hasn’t had to do for 18 months, officials point out.

For Rawlings, keeping the emergency department open became a personal mission. The 26-year veteran of the hospital was among nurses who came in on days off and worked extra shifts for months at a time to limit those closings, all the while working in an emergency department that had long since outgrown its space.

The state-of-the art emergency department is a game changer for staff and the hospital, officials said Monday, as well as members of the public.

Brad Harrington, president and CEO of the Mississippi River Health Alliance, which operates hospitals in Carleton Place and Almonte, said it plays a key role in minimizing the risk of future staff shortages.

“This building is part of the solution,” Harrington said. “It is going to help us recruit and retain staff.”

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Along with ministry funding for the $20-million emergency department (the community raised $5 million toward the project and equipment), the hospital received additional provincial funding to increase nursing staff, including going from two to three nurses overnight in emergency. The hospital is also offering “competitive incentives” to attract and retain skilled nurses, and is partnering with educational institutions. Having a modern space will help with that recruitment, he said.

In the old emergency department, patient rooms were cramped, storage space was limited and overflowing and the design was inadequate and out of date. Bad news would often have to be given to families in crowded hallways or spare examination rooms, said Rawlings. “Everything happens in the hallway, it is just awful. Here, we can bring them right in.” She pointed out the chair and sofa that turn into beds in the private family room that is part of the new department.

The new department nearly doubles the number of treatment rooms to 11, each one with a door that closes. It also includes state-of-the-art design and equipment aimed at better care, better infection prevention and spaces designed to help staff treat patients more efficiently and effectively. Among other things, it has an isolation room, something the hospital had to fashion with the help of tarps and duct tape in the old emergency department during the pandemic, according to Rawlings. The original design was reworked to incorporate lessons learned from the pandemic, said Harrington.

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The emergency department, more than a decade in the planning and building phases, represents a milestone for the 22-bed hospital.

“This facility is far more than bricks and mortar; it embodies our collective vision to deliver accessible, high-quality care that meets the needs of every family in our region,” said Harrington. “Our population is growing, and this emergency department is built to deal with current volumes and projected volumes into the future.”

Toby Randell, mayor of Carleton Place, thanked members of the community for raising money and supporting the plan. The emergency department is named after Thomas Cavanagh, a businessman whose family made the largest donation to the project.

“It is hard to put into words what a new emergency department means to our community,” said Randell. “I can say without question, our frontline doctors, nurses and support staff deserve to work in this beautiful, modernized space, and our citizens deserve to be served in a calm, private, welcoming space. It is amazing what a community can accomplish when a community comes together.”

Rawlings said nurses are excited about the new space “to make a new home here, to make more memories and to help more families.”

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