Niagara Health celebrating a decade since hospital in St. Catharines opened

Facility has led to new and enhanced services for residents from around the area

Staff at Niagara Health hospitals are celebrating a milestone this week.

In the decade since the St. Catharines hospital and Walker Family Cancer Centre opened on March 24, 2013, more than 9,000 radiation therapy treatments have been provided to patients who previously would have had to leave Niagara to receive them.

Meanwhile, cardiologists performed more than 17,000 cardiac catheterizations in St. Catharines, and more than 4,300 percutaneous coronary interventions — clearing clogged arteries — in that time, while staff increased from three cardiologists to a team of 12.

Those are among the many achievements Niagara Health is celebrating, as the 10th anniversary of the opening of the hospital on Fourth Avenue arrives Friday.

In a media release, Niagara Health president and chief executive Lynn Guerriero said she has always understood how much the St. Catharines hospital site means to the people of Niagara.

“A hospital is about so much more than physical buildings. It’s about the people delivering care inside those walls, the programs they facilitate and the patients our teams provide compassionate care for,” she said.

The hospital system will share stories at niagarahealth.on.ca and on social media to illustrate some of the improvements in the care offered in Niagara since the hospital opened.

In addition to offering new treatments for Niagara residents — including increased opportunity for patients receiving chemotherapy — the hospital allowed for other services to be integrated and enhanced, providing access to advanced technology while improving staff recruitment and retention.

Since integrating maternity and pediatric services, Niagara Health has been able to redevelop and expand programs to include a 12-bed special care nursery and a 20-bed neonatal intensive care unit, while the number of babies delivered there increased to 3,615 last year, compared to 2,748 deliveries when the hospital first opened.

Niagara Health said its regional mental health and addictions program has seen a decrease in the number of patients experiencing repeat emergency department visits and readmissions, currently with 40 clients, down from 85 when the program began.

‘‘ A hospital is about so much more than physical buildings. It’s about the people delivering care inside those walls, the programs they facilitate and the patients our teams provide compassionate care for.

LYNN GUERRIERO NIAGARA HEALTH PRESIDENT AND CEO