THE NEW WOMEN’S COLLEGE HOSPITAL

OPENS ITS DOOR

BRINGING LEADERSHIP TO WOMEN’S HEALTH AND AMBULATORY CARE

NEWS EMBARGO UNTIL FRIDAY, MARCH 31ST, 2006

Toronto, Ontario (March 31st, 2006) – The New Women’s College Hospital will officially open its doors on Saturday, April 1st, 2006 — heralding a bright new future in the delivery of excellence in women’s health in an ambulatory care setting.

This historic move, which restores independent governance to Women’s College Hospital, is the result of a three-part plan, unveiled in August, 2005 by the Honourable George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long Term Care, which included the creation of a state-of-the-art academic ambulatory care hospital to meet the special needs of women and their families.

“A health-care facility which is totally focused on meeting the complexities of women’s health care needs and their families will be a welcome addition in Toronto and throughout Ontario,” says Michele Landsberg, Chair of Women’s College Hospital Board of Directors. “We are excited about building on our distinguished history of leadership in women’s health, education and research which will enable us to reach out to the diverse communities we serve and to create partnerships with many different hospitals for a fresh approach to health care. Regaining our independence is a gift to all the women of Ontario.”

Meeting the special health care needs of women and their families is an area medical authorities are recognizing requires greater attention, focus and research than ever before. A report on hospital acute care services released last year by the Canadian Institute for Health Information and the Hospital Research Collaborative at the University of Toronto indicated that women were less satisfied with the care and services they received in hospitals than men. They expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the communication they received about their condition, treatment, discharge and care at home.[1]

“Whether the health issues are related to HIV, osteoporosis, cancer, mental health, aging or domestic violence, the treatment, approach and medical intervention required for women needs to take into consideration that they are biologically different,” says Ms Landsberg. “Women also have unique concerns which are related to their age as well as their cultural and economic backgrounds and family situations. What will set the New Women’s College Hospital apart is our ability to be more sensitive to these concerns and to provide compassionate care in a leading-edge way.”

Improving on the delivery and quality of care for women and their families is not the only goal for the New Women’s College Hospital. It also plans to reach out to the community to learn more about unmet needs and how the Hospital can best meet those needs. In establishing partnerships with other hospitals and community agencies, the New Women’s College Hospital will collaborate on joint programs to operate more efficiently and to capitalize on knowledge sharing. “Our vision of having meaningful and workable partnerships with other hospitals will ultimately mean better delivery of health care services for the patients,” says Nancy Malcolm, Chief Executive Officer of Women’s College Hospital.

Additionally, the New Women’s College Hospital will be home to the Women’s Health Institute, a new provincial initiative which has a mandate to promote women’s health throughout Ontario.

Achieving status as a leading-edge, state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility will require a significant redevelopment of the Grenville site. “We really are the hospital of the future, the first to commit fully to the patient-focused approach that is innovative ambulatory care,” says Ms Malcolm. “We are thrilled to be starting to plan for the physical facility we need.” The New Women’s College Hospital will continue to provide a full range of health services ranging from brief diagnostic investigations or therapeutic treatments all the way to surgery that can be done on a short-stay (23-hour) basis.

An important aspect of ambulatory care at the New Women’s College Hospital will be to ensure patients are satisfied with the quality of the communication they receive about follow-up procedures as well as information and assistance on how to access home care services.

A special event to celebrate the transition will be held on March 31st for staff at the New Women’s College Hospital. During the transition, patients and visitors will not see a disruption in service. All programs and services will continue to be offered. “We are fully committed to ensuring this change is safe, comfortable, and seamless for our patients, volunteers and donors,” says Ms. Landsberg.

Women’s College Hospital has always been a pioneer in women’s health dating back to its early days in 1883 when the Woman’s Medical College was formed because the University of Toronto would not admit women into medical studies. In 1926 it began to raise the necessary $700,000 for construction of the Hospital at the corner of Grosvenor and Surrey. In 1934, the cornerstone of the first wing of the present day Women’s College Hospital was laid by the Rt. Hon. R.B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada. On April 1st, 2006, the next chapter in its remarkable history unfolds as the New Women’s College Hospital prepares to reassume its leadership role in the advancement, innovation and delivery of women’s health services and training health-care providers in an ambulatory care environment.

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[1] Hospital Health Report: Acute Care 2005