Looking ahead to 2020
With all of the year-end countdowns and year-in-reviews that are the trend this time of year, we thought we’d join in and share a recap of some of the milestones we’ve reached together in 2019.
It’s been a busy year and we’re excited to look ahead to 2020 as we continue to prepare for our two-hospital future.
Enhancing care at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital
This past year at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, we continued to make advances in the way we deliver care to our community. We introduced the GreenLight Laser therapy pilot program as a minimally-invasive procedure to provide relief for men living with an enlarged prostate. Renovations also began on our diagnostic laboratory to make way for new, state-of-the art automated chemistry and hematology systems. The hematology system is already up and running and the chemistry system should be ready in the new year.
The emergency department (ED) at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital remains one of the busiest in the province and we’ve been working hard to alleviate the capacity pressures we face. Launching a program like MackenzieHelps, which will help those with complex care needs safely leave the hospital to continue their care in the comfort of their own home, will certainly help alleviate those pressures, as will the new Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital when it opens. Despite the challenges we face, we’re still a top performing urgent and emergency care provider. We’re proud that, in most cases, 90 per cent of our patients see an ED physician within two hours and our ambulance transfer times are 5-10 minutes faster than other York Region hospitals. CTV Toronto recognized this achievement and featured our ED on their broadcast in September.
Building the new Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital
When we open Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, we all know that it will be the first smart hospital in Canada, but did you know that we’re already being recognized for our investments in technology and the way we use it? Not only are we the first Canadian acute care hospital to receive the highest certification for electronic medical record adoption, this past year we were also honoured with two special awards. We were named the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Healthcare’s Most Wired recipient and we were honoured with the Davies Award of Excellence for our use of health information and technology to improve quality care for patients and families.
Many construction milestones have been reached in the past year at Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital – as you pass by the site on Major Mackenzie Drive, you’ll see for yourself how much progress has been made.
The spring months saw the Central Utility Plant (CUP), which contains most of the hospital’s mechanical and electrical equipment, installed and tested, and a snowy day in November saw the delivery and installation of the modular data centres that will support the medical devices and technologies that make a hospital run. We’ve also shared sneak peeks of our labour and delivery, critical care and mental health departments, and announced that there will be both a Starbucks and a Tim Horton’s available for patients and visitors to refuel and recharge.
Mackenzie Health also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a feasibility study with the City of Vaughan, York University and ventureLAB to identify opportunities to maximize the use of the land surrounding the hospital site in the coming years.
As we end this year and move on to the next, many areas of Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital are now weather-tight and protected from nature’s elements. More and more departments including emergency, critical care and woman and child are also considered construction cleaned and locked-down. This means that anyone needing to enter the area to complete work must take additional precautions.
The year to come will bring even more progress as we look towards inviting members of our community to learn more about the services offered at both of our hospitals and what our two-hospital future will mean for them and the way they receive care.
Generous donors helped make history in 2019
Generosity reigned in 2019. Donors big and small brought us closer to our $250-million goal to build and equip Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital and enhance care at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital.
History was made in June when Mackenzie Health received its largest ever single donation: the Cortellucci family made a $40-million gift in support of Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital. To date, a total of 39 donors have made transformational gifts of $1 million or more.
Our four signature events gathered crowds and raised almost $2 million for Mackenzie Health in the past year. Community members held 45 events raising an impressive $984,193 for Mackenzie Health. It’s inspiring to see our communities come together to ensure that our families, friends and neighbours have access to the ultimate in heath care.
We also evolved our campaign to truly reflect who we are, our values and our future with the Ultimate campaign. Now, more than 5,400 people have helped us raise over $174 million toward our ultimate goal. But we’re not done just yet.
Join us on our journey. Make an impact. Get noticed. Help bring the ultimate in care to our community. Make a donation today at www.theultimatesuitsyou.ca.
Read more about Mackenzie Health and Mackenzie Health Foundation in our community report