$10 Million hospital expansion in the home stretch

A year later, new stone and brick were being put on the exterior of the Southampton hospital.

Hub Staff

It was just over a year ago, on May 16, 2016, when construction began on the $10 million Saugeen Memorial Hospital expansion, following a May 5 groundbreaking ceremony.

The two year long, 9,700 square foot, combination renovation and new addition to the Emergency Room (ER) and Laboratory will see the ER grow to over three times its former size with a dedicated triage area and waiting room. There will be nine treatment rooms, three trauma rooms and a decontamination room. The Laboratory will also grow to double its size.

We spoke with Southampton Hospital Manager Donna Chappelle to see how things were progressing after 12 months.

“We've come a long way in a year, it's pretty exciting,” said Chappelle, adding that a lot had been achieved while still keeping the hospital's doors open. “You've got to remember, none of our services have been changed. We still have a full functioning lab, we still have a full functioning emerg...none of our services were cut through any of this.”

Chappelle said that one of the first things to happen was the relocation of services to accommodate construction. The laboratory moved to where the physiotherapy area used to be, with physiotherapy being moved upstairs. “We did that as a temporary lab and we've been there now for almost a year,” said Chappelle. “I think early on people thought there wasn't a lot being done but what they didn't realize is that there was a lot being done inside the basement of this building...a lot of stuff people couldn't see was going on. We did a lot of moving.”

Once everything had been relocated construction on the new structure could begin. “They built the new outside, which remains all enclosed still until they get the curtain glass in for the front windows. Once they get the glass in, the cover will come off,” Chappelle said, adding that most of the plumbing and electrical work has been completed. “They're doing a lot of drywalling now. The waiting room and all those things are already done, the drywall’s all up in them. It’s really coming along really well.

Chappelle said there had no significant issues with the construction thus far. “There was a few things but nothing really big. When you're joining to an older building you can run into some things but nothing that really held us up for that long,” she said. “Anything they came across they figured out and handled quite quickly and really didn't cause a lot of delays.”

The new ER is expected to be completed by the fall with the Laboratory being finished in 2018. “Some time early, maybe spring,” said Chappelle. “So what happens is once we move into the new emerg from our current emerg, then they take our current emerg and make it the lab and then they move the lab out of its temporary location into their new location.”

Chappelle praised the staff and volunteers at the hospital for their help during the construction period. “I've really counted on them. Our auxiliary volunteers have been wonderful about directing the public and the public have been wonderful,” she said, also giving thank to donors, the foundation, patients and their families. “They really made it a lot easier for us because everybody was so accommodating and supportive.”

“We're really looking forward to the fall, it’s really exciting,” said Chappelle. “I feel like we’re getting out on the home stretch.”

A rendering of what the new entrance to the hospital will look like once it's completed.

One year since the start of construction and everything is on schedule. The new Emergency Room is expected to open this fall and the new laboratory early next year.