The future is now, says Niagara Health boss
‘We have to get moving. There is no choice,’ Guerriero says of changes to hospitals
The transformation of Niagara Health is critical for our community, but it is just as important for our teams.
LYNN GUERRIERO NIAGARA HEALTH PRESIDENT
Niagara Health’s and the community’s future is at stake, said the hospital system’s president in a presentation kicking off a series of public consultations on the future of health services.
“We have to get moving. There is no choice,” said Lynn Guerriero, Niagara Health’s president and chief executive officer. “The transformation of Niagara Health is critical for our community, but it is just as important for our teams. We have to consolidate them in a better way so that they can be their best and patients get the best care.”
Guerriero presented Niagara Health’s plan for the future at regional council Thursday. The event marked the beginning of a series of community meetings in the coming months.
It starts with an an online webinar on Tuesday at 9 a.m., where residents can submit questions in advance. Niagara Health’s leadership team has also scheduled eight inperson community meetings across Niagara. They begin on March 19 in Fort Erie and run through April, with the final one on May 27 in Beamsville.
Guerriero said Niagara Health is following a master plan approved in 2015 before the pandemic slowed its implementation. The main features are a three-hospital system.
“We have to consolidate our teams in a better way so that they can be their best and patients get the best care.”
Like most hospital systems across the province, Niagara’s is under extreme pressure and faces:
Staff shortages Niagara Health has 400 staff vacancies (not including doctors) and is having difficulty recruiting nurses, PSWs and medical imaging technologists. It also needs more emergency room physicians, anesthesiologists and internal medicine specialists.
Outdated infrastructure The Welland hospital opened in 1960, Niagara Falls in 1958, Port Colborne in 1952 and Fort Erie in 1931.
Primary care shortage The re
gion needs 81primary-care physicians, which will leave an estimated 140,000 residents without a family doctor.
Lack of long-term-care capacity Niagara needs another 400 long-term care beds.
Increasing need for mentalhealth care In the past decade, there has been a 33 percent increase in patients seeking mental health care in the emergency department.
Guerriero said a three-site hospital model allows Niagara Health to keep its teams together in centres of excellence, offering specialized care for women and babies, cancer, cardiac, kidney, mental health and addictions, complex care, stroke, wellness in aging and eye care.
Angela Zangari, Niagara Health’s executive vice president of finance, redevelopment and facilities, said the organization has always wanted a new hospital built in Welland.
“We are still in the beginning stages, and with any plan, you look at what’s most effective, whether it is redeveloping the site or building a brand new one,” Zangari said. “Welland is a big site, so we’d look at a campus approach and the other type of community partners that could join us on that site.”
Even if a new hospital is built at the Welland site, the lengthy timelines mean some redevelopment has to occur even when the new South Niagara Hospital in Niagara Falls opens in 2028.
Zangari said plans for the hospital property in Welland are in the early stages, giving residents an opportunity for input and feedback.
Guerriero said the City of Port Colborne and Town of Fort Erie have the right of first refusal when Niagara Health divests those hospital sites. She acknowledged this kind of change is hard for communities.
“The sites at Port Colborne and Fort Erie stopped being acute-care hospitals back in 2009,” Guerrriero said. “I understand that the community has gotten used to having the urgent-care centres there — but urgent-care centres are not emergency departments,” Guerriero said.
“What Port Colborne and Fort Erie need is better access to primary care and the ability to see a primary care practitioner when sick the same day or the next day. That’s really what the urgent-care center has become.
Guerriero said residents and elected officials from Port Colborne and Fort Erie have diligently worked to expand primary care in their communities.
“We’ve been talking to the (Ontario) Ministry of Health about that, and there was a recent announcement that some dollars will be allocated to south Niagara for primary care,” Guerriero said.
“We hope primary care services are expanded in those communities well before 2028 and that those communities might use the old hospital sites for those services.”
Guerriero said evidence shows a team-based approach provides the best health care, especially in highly complex areas and procedures. This model, along with the opening the new South Niagara Hospital, will help attract new talent and retain those who are already here.
“It’s not so much a question about the model; it’s how do we get there,” Guerriero said.
“These teams function at the highest level when we equip them with the right equipment, infrastructure and colleagues.”