FAQs
Features & Design
Q: How big will the new Hospital be?
A: The new hospital will be approximately 1.6 million sq. ft. It will be more than three times the size of the current Hospital which is approximately 450,000 sq. ft.
Q: How many beds will the new Hospital have?
A: The new hospital will have capacity for 457 beds with shelled-in space to grow to 602 beds in the future.
Q: Why will the hospital be so big?
A: The New Oakville Hospital is one of the first new hospital projects in Ontario to be built using the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s new design guidelines for hospital construction.
The guidelines are part of a new set of standards the province has developed to:
- improve the efficiency of the planning process;
- create greater consistency among hospitals throughout the province; and
- support enhanced infection prevention and control, primarily through the use of single patient rooms, which will reduce the spread of infectious diseases, such as C. difficile, within the hospital. Single patient rooms contribute to the additional square footage when compared to our existing hospital.
The preliminary designs for our new hospital have incorporated current and anticipated standards and best practices from many sources, including:
- Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED®)
- Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
- Community and Hospital Infection Control Association
- The Ontario Building Code
Q: What ‘green’ design features will be incorporated and what is being done to reduce the impact of the new Hospital on the environment?
A: Sustainable design or building ‘green’ is a term used to describe construction techniques that use resources efficiently while creating healthier buildings.
Green buildings are built to meet certain objectives such as protecting occupant health, using energy, water and other resources more efficiently and reducing the overall impact on the environment.
For the New Oakville Hospital project, we will be focusing on the following key areas:
- Sustainable site: recognizing the ecological integrity of the site and pursuing strategies to minimize disruptions and consider the ripple effect beyond the physical structure.
- Water efficiency: balancing the water quality and quantity demands within the building.
- Energy and atmosphere: evaluating opportunities to reduce energy consumption and use renewable energy sources wherever possible.
- Materials and resources: using sustainable materials to enhance the building’s environmental health performance.
- Indoor environmental quality: Balancing a well day-lit, comfortable, energy efficient and non-toxic environment resulting in improved productivity and patient outcomes.
Q: What new services will be offered?
A: In addition to the full range of services that OTMH currently provides, a new cancer clinic will provide assessment, teaching, counseling, chemotherapy administration, blood transfusions and procedures for oncology patients. Radiation treatment will not be provided at the New Oakville Hospital as it is provided regionally elsewhere.
Q: What are some additional benefits of the new Hospital?
A:Patient and family-centred care will be supported through involvement of the patient and family in all aspects of care. Facilities that will improve the experience of patients and families will include:
- A significant increase in the number of single patient rooms
- Ample and well designed waiting space that consider the wide range of needs related to age, mobility, frailty and cognition
- Simple circulation and wayfinding systems and travel distances that are as short as possible
- Parking that is appropriately sized and related to the main hospital entrances
- Family amenities include family rooms, lounges, shower facilities, kitchenettes, retail services, etc.
- Patient rooms designed to consider privacy, sleeping areas for a family member to remain overnight, light dimming capability, natural light, etc.
Q: How is accessibility being addressed at the new Hospital?
A: Accessibility covers all aspects of the facility and all occupants of the facility - visitors, patients, and staff. During the planning process staff at the Hospital have identified barriers that occur in typical facilities, including the current Hospital, to ensure the new design addresses these concerns. Throughout the planning process accessibility advocates within our organization and from the Oakville community will be consulted to ensure the creation of the most inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone. Additionally, the new hospital will comply with the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
Q: How is parking on the site being planned?
A: Community members, patients and staff have identified close, safe, convenient, covered parking as a prime concern in the development of the New Oakville Hospital. We are looking to provide a combination of ground-level and tiered parking in strategic locations that provide maximum accessibility to the main entrances into the building.
Q: What are the plans for alternative modes of transportation to and from the site?
A: The site will be accessible by foot, bicycle, car, and bus. As part of the design process we have explored the advantages of multiple entry points that will ultimately assist in traffic streaming and clear, uncongested routes to building entrances.
Q: What shops and amenities will be available for patients and visitors?
A: As with the current Hospital there are plans to have a volunteer Gift Shop and an outpatient pharmacy located in the building. Further retail opportunities are being explored. |
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