RMH creates new operating room to help clear surgical wait list

Ross Memorial Hospital is committed to clearing its surgical waitlist created by the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of 2022.

To help reach that goal, the hospital recently completed renovations to create a new operating room.

The renovations were made possible through one-time funding of up to $378,000 in operating funding and up to $64,100 for capital funding in 2021/2022 for Surgical Innovation, Diagnostic Imaging and Capital Projects under the Ministry of Health’s Surgical Innovation Fund.

Renovations in the operating room included new lighting, an anesthetic machine, and equipment for both general surgery and orthopaedic surgery. The funding also covered the cost of training staff on the new equipment.

Dr. Sebastian Heaven, an Orthopaedic Surgeon at Ross Memorial, performed the first procedure in the newly renovated operating room, a total knee replacement surgery on March 17, 2022. The hospital now has seven operating rooms.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges in the delivery of healthcare, including the ramping down of non-urgent and non-emergent surgeries and procedures. Ross Memorial sincerely appreciates the Ministry of Health making the Surgical Innovation Fund available so that our operating room renovation was possible. The hospital will continue to use every available resource to ensure our community has access to the healthcare services they need,” said Kelly Isfan, president and CEO of RMH. 

Laurie Scott, local MPP, said the funding “will help community members get the surgeries they need faster by supporting our local hospital and providing them with flexibility and expanding access to care under the province’s $30 million Surgical Innovation Fund.”