A21 - Wednesday, September 14, 1983 - North Shore News

Transition ward opening will add
20 acute beds at Lions Gate

LIONS GATE HOSPITAL will regain 20 badly-

needed acute care beds and be able to provide a
more suitable environment for patients awaiting
placement in long term care facilities, when the
hospital opens its Discharge Planning Ward in

mid-September.

Forty-eight patients now
occupying acute care beds
will be moved to a new 20-
bed Discharge Planning
Ward, which will provide a
“transition” facility before
they move on to personal,
intermediate, extended or
multi-level care facilities.

“We will be abie to
provide a much more ap-
propriate level of care in the
new setting,” says Dean
Armstrong, Nursing
coordinator of Long Term
Care. “The patients will be
cared for by staff
specializing in the care of the
elderly and will be able to
engage in activities that are
impossible on an acute care
ward. They won't have to
stay in bed and it will be
much more comfortable for
visitors too.”

The new ward is being
fashioned out of a medical
ward that was closed during
severe staff cutbacks 15
months ago. One of the
ward's four-bed rooms has
been converted into a dining
roc™ and another into an
activity room. The ward will
be made as home-like as
possible with patients’
personal effects and, it is
hoped, donations from the
community of pictures, wall
hangings, plants, writing
desks. etc. The auxiliary to
LGH is providing a video
machine so that the ward's
residents will be able to
watch movies.

Funds for the Discharge
Planning Ward are available
because LGH ad-
ministrators budgeted for a
higher wage increase in the
sal unsettled contract with
the Hospital Employees
Umon than now appears
likely The Ministry) of
Health suggested that this

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“surplus” be used to open a
Discharge Planning Ward on
the understanding that the
hospital's operating funds
next year would be increased
to cover the cost of keeping
the beds open.

The Discharge Planning
Ward will be staffed on a 24-
hour basis by four
Registered Nurses and 10
nurses aides.

“Most of the staff applied
for a transfer to the ward
from other areas in the
hospital. They are keenly
interested in this kind of
nursing — care of the elderly
is a very important new
speciality field in nursing.”
says Armstrong. “It requires
special skills to meet the
special needs of elderly
patients.” As placements are
found in community
facilities, patients will be
discharged from the
Discharge Planning Ward
and their places taken by
other LTC patients oc-
cupying acute care beds.

“Volunteers are a very
vital element in our
program,” says Armstong.
“Stimulation is so important
for people who are in the
same limited space each and
every day. They really look
forward to visits from
volunteers who sit and chat
or read or take them for
walks or help them with
shopping or letter writing.
Friendships develop and it
can be a very rewarding
experience for anyone who
can spare a couple hours a
week. Age 1s not important
but we would very much lke
to find more male com-
panions for our mate
patients.”

Interested volunteers can
contact Toni Harvey at 988-
3131, local 724 or 725

929-1122

On the North Shore since 1955

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