BCHS Celebrates Emergency Department Project Completion!

Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS) is proud to announce the successful completion of its Emergency Department (ED) Renovation Improvement Project, representing an investment of approximately $32M to emergency care at Brantford General Hospital (BGH).

Beginning in September 2023, the ED Renovation Improvement Project involved considerable construction and renovation works on both the exterior and interior of BGH, which included modernizing approximately 15,300 square feet of hospital patient care space and support areas.

The newly renovated ED includes: a new walk-in entrance, renovated patient waiting, triage, and registration areas, the development of the new Andersen Ambulatory Assessment Area – Zone 7, opening of the new Indigenous Family Space, renovated staff areas, and provision of new mental health treatment areas within the new ED Zone 8.

For Amy Farrow, ED Charge Nurse, the renovations have transformed emergency care for both patients and staff. “Looking back on the ED pre-renovations, we lacked the features that newer hospitals have with privacy and comfort.”

“We now have purpose-built areas with the right equipment, in the right spaces, allowing us to provide the right care more efficiently.”

Dr. Somaiah Ahmed, Chief and Medical Director of Emergency Medicine, echoes that these improvements have greatly improved patient flow, access, and privacy.

“I’m incredibly excited and proud that we now have an ED in one connected space, with quieter areas for mental health patients and dedicated pediatric rooms. We’ve created spaces that were designed with a clear vision and intent to best serve our patient population in real time – which is everything you can hope for.”

Over the past decade, BGH has experienced increased demand for emergency care. Currently, over 50,000 patients present at the ED annually to receive care. It is anticipated that these patient volumes will continue to grow to over 70,000 patient visits per year by 2030.

Investing in the Emergency Department was essential to ensuring BCHS can continue delivering exceptional emergency care to the communities we serve.

“We are incredibly thankful to our community for their patience and understanding as we continued to provide patient care during renovations, and to hospital staff who continuously stepped up, adapted, and made it to the other side,” says Farrow. 

As we plan for the future of healthcare in our community, investments such as the ED Renovation Improvement Project are essential to bridge the gap responsibly until a new hospital is built in Brantford-Brant.

“Our community is rapidly growing and if we stand still, we are stuck in the past,” says Ahmed. “We need to keep looking forward and investing in modern standards for our current hospital until a new one is built.”

With support from generous donors, the BCHS Foundation contributed over $8M in support of the ED Renovation Improvement Project.

We would like to sincerely thank the Ontario Ministry of Health, Brant Community Healthcare System Foundation and its donors, our BCHS Redevelopment and construction teams, our ED care teams and staff, and all those involved with the project who have worked tirelessly to turn these spaces into a reality.

Visit www.reimaginebchs.ca to learn more about the ED Renovation Improvement Project and the BCHS New Hospital Project.