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MAPLE RIDGE – Premier Gordon Campbell and Health Services Minister George Abbott today officially opened a new, expanded emergency department and outpatient care centre at Ridge Meadows Hospital (RMH) that will provide Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows residents with quality care for years to come.
The $20.9-million construction project was funded by the Province through Fraser Health and the Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation to create new, modern and more spacious physical environments for the emergency department and outpatient care. The new emergency department is triple the size of the old ER and includes space for future growth. The 4,181-square-metre (45,000-square-foot) facility houses the Greg Moore Emergency Department on the main floor, and the Betsy Bilodeau Ambulatory Care Centre on the lower floor.
Fraser Health contributed $17.9 million and the Hospital Foundation contributed $3 million, thanks to the generosity of community donors, including the Greg Moore Foundation and the estate of Betsy Bilodeau, which each provided $500,000.
“Ridge Meadows Hospital has been caring for its community citizens for 50 years, and this expansion will ensure it can continue to provide top-quality care for patients,” said Premier Campbell. “The invaluable partnership with the foundation has allowed us to continue our commitment to improve emergency and outpatient health-care services to meet the needs of these rapidly growing communities, today and into the future.”
In 2007/2008, there were 26,334 visits to the emergency room. The new emergency department is designed to meet the needs of a projected 41,000 visits per year by 2015.
“As this region grows, it is crucial that we provide for the health-care needs of its residents,” said Abbott. “This improved and expanded emergency department and outpatient care centre will help health-care professionals treat patients more efficiently, and will provide a better, healthier environment for patients and staff.”
“The town of Maple Ridge was very
good to the Moore family over the 30-plus years I was in business and hopefully
some of the goodness was returned during my ownership of Maple Ridge Chrysler
in many parts of the community,” said Ric Moore, Greg Moore’s father. “Greg, as
most people know, was very proud to come from a small town and even having his
choice of many great cities in Canada and the USA, always returned ‘home’ to
our city. The
“Betsy Ann Bilodeau not only lived in Maple Ridge but was a true community partner,” said John Cumberbirch, Betsy’s second cousin, on behalf of the Bilodeau family. “Whether it was tending to her well-loved animals and offering their talents to children with special needs, working within Maple Ridge’s natural geography, or being a pivotal agent for the development of therapeutic riding for individuals with special needs, Betsy contributed fully to the community within which she lived. She left her Maple Ridge world even fuller after her passing with her endowment to Ridge Meadows Hospital.”
“The Ridge Meadows Hospital provides such an important service for the residents of Mission and Maple Ridge,” said Randy Hawes, MLA for Maple Ridge-Mission. “This addition will ensure that the hospital can continue to service our community as it expands over the next decade, allowing people to feel safe in knowing that they have access to the most modern health services.”
Featured in the new emergency department are new treatment spaces and a design for improved patient flow. The design incorporates current best practices for patient care, occupational health and environmental safety.
The new outpatient, also known as ambulatory,
care area houses educational, diagnostic and therapeutic services such as
respiratory care, chemotherapy, cataract surgery, blood transfusions,
intravenous therapy, and endoscopy procedures.
“Special recognition must be given to our foundation and to our communities for their generous support in bringing this project from a concept on paper to reality,” said Valerie Spurrell, RMH executive director, acute programs.
“Long before the doors of our local hospital opened, our community members rallied to provide support for local hospital services, and the momentum of that tremendous support has carried on to the present day,” said Jack Faber, chair of the Capital Campaign Cabinet for the ER, ambulatory care project. “The evidence of this support is most recently reflected in the incredible response we had to our campaign for this project from our community, including the hospital staff, physicians and volunteers. I’m extremely proud to be a member of this community – one of caring individuals who continue to invest in local health care for the benefit of current and future generations.”
The new emergency department and patient care centre at RMH is part of the overall strategy to build capacity throughout Fraser Health, improving access for patients and ensuring sustainability. This includes the new Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, which opened in August 2008, improvements to Burnaby Hospital emergency department, the construction of the Surrey Outpatient Hospital, more than 1,600 net-new seniors’ beds and units across the region and an additional 73 acute care beds at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
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contact: |
Press Secretary Office of the Premier 604 307-7177
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Communications Director Ministry of Health Services 250 952-1887
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604 450-7881
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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