On August 10, 2018 Atikokan General Hospital (AGH) celebrated the official opening of the renovated long-term care wing, as well as the new acute care wing.
Ed Enge, Chair of the hospital board, cut the ceremonial ribbon in front of a gathering of about 25 interested Atikokan citizens, followed by speeches from dignitaries including newly elected MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell, Mayor Dennis Brown, Atikokan General Hospital CEO Doug Moynihan, hospital Board Chair Ed Enge, and AGH Foundation representative Kim Cross. Marlene Davidson and Brian Gouliquer represented both the Métis and Indigenous community.
The brand new acute care wing provides an exceptional patient care experience with spacious rooms, private washrooms, the latest nurse call technology, and improved infection control and temperature/humidity control.
The long-term care wing, originally occupied in 1986, has been renovated to add 10 new private rooms. These rooms have wheelchair accessible washrooms, better air quality control, and a new nurse call system.
In addition to privacy, “the first thing that the patient will see is that they have a much larger spacious room, whether they’re on the acute side or whether they’re in long-term care,” says Doug Moynihan, CEO of the Atikokan General Hospital. “What we can ensure [patients] is a very smooth and confident level of care – the best quality care that’s possible.”
The hospital has also added three rooms for Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) students: a study room, conference room, and on-call room.
“We have always had really good staff at the Atikokan General Hospital, and now we’ve got a really good building to go along to support the health care that the staff can offer,” says Moynihan.
The next phase in Atikokan General Hospital’s Master Plan is to propose a new emergency department and lab. CEO Moynihan sees these two functions as priorities because of the critical demand in services for these areas.
Tours of the new addition and renovation are available by calling Bonnie Clairmont at 807-597-4215 ext. 305.