HomeMy WebLinkAboutX2023-035-001FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE
FOR 35,000 PEOPLE
AJAX and PICKERING GENERAL HOSPITAL
a . . AN URGENT,
DESPERATE NEED
• As the only hospital between Oshawa and Metropolitan
Toronto, Ajax and Pickering General Hospital is the first line of
defence for 35,000 men, women and children living in our area.
Each year it serves more than twice as many patients from
Pickering Township as all other hospitals combined, including
those of Metropolitan Toronto.
• Minutes count when emergencies arise ... when a farm or
factory worker is seriously injured ... when a baby fights for k,\
birth ... when a loved one is taken dangerously ill. Strategically
located, Ajax and Pickering General Hospital can be reached
quickly from all sections of South Ontario County. Very often
it means the difference between life and death.
• The Hospital's limited, and outdated, facilities are cracking
under the pressure of explosive demands for service. Average
daily occupancy of beds is 106 per cent of rated capacity. As
many as 65 beds are set up in space designed for 45. Except
in cases of emergency, patients must wait two months or more
for admission.
• Admittedly, the Hospital does not now have the calibre of
facilities and equipment required to satisfy all the hospital needs
of our area. As a result, many patients who would prefer to
remain close to home must go to other hospitals for treatment.
• There is an urgent —indeed desperate — need for new,
larger, more comprehensive facilities. The present hospital — a
small, wooden -frame building — cannot be economically expand-
ed or improved; nor would such expansion be approved by the
Ontario Hospital Services Commission.
• Construction of new facilities will enable Ajax and Pickering
General Hospital to provide us with fuller, more effective service.
The benefits to be reaped may well be measured in terms of
your life ... your health ... your livelihood. Statistics show
one of every seven residents of Ontario requires hospital care
each year.
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Patients get well quickly at Our Hospital.
Average length of stay is only 6.4 days.
One operating room serves the entire hos-
pital. More than 6,000 operations performed.
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Our Hospital is noted for its warm personality. Chil-
dren receive special treatment and care. Every effort
is made to keep them happy while they are getting
well. But children, too, often must wait many weeks
for admittance because of the extreme bed shortage.
A HOSPITAL WITH A PERSONALITY
A HOSPITAL IS REALLY PEOPLE ... patients of all ages,
faiths and creeds who come to it in time of need .. .
and the doctors, nurses, technicians and other staff
who are there to help them. Together, they can make
a hospital a source of great security and pride to
the area it serves, for nothing is more important
than the easing of pain, the saving of life, the preser-
vation of health and hope.
Ajax and Pickering General Hospital is a case in
point. It is a hospital with a warm personality ...
close to the hearts of the thousands of patients it has
served ... noted for its cheerful, friendly atmosphere
and high standards of medical treatment and nursing
care ... fondly regarded as a "home base" hospital
by the families whose lives it helps protect.
It is, in effect, one of us. It is Our Hospital...
operated by, and for, the people of South Ontario
County.
40,000 PATIENTS
Opened in 1954, Our Hospital has compiled an
amazing record of service: over 15,200 bed patients
admitted, more than 21,300 out -patients and emer-
gencies treated, 3,200 babies born, over 6,000 surgi-
cal operations performed ... in total, nearly 40,000
patients served.
Our Hospital helps keep us healthy ... able to work,
play and enjoy life. But it has a distressing and
complex problem to contend with: drastically over-
crowded facilities, insufficient equipment and out-
dated buildings.
ONLY ONE OPERATING ROOM
Its 45-bed capacity, one operating room, one re-
covery room, one delivery room, one X-ray room
and two small labs are glaringly inadequate to
provide the amount of service we ask of it. The
problem grows more acute each year, as modern
medical science makes possible the diagnosis, treat-
ment and cure of an increasing number of diseases
and injuries.
Here is the statistical story of Our Hospital's growth
of service since 1954: Percentage
1954 1960 Increase
Bed Patients. . . . . 1,097 2,529 130%
Out -Patient Visits . . . 1,297 3,481 168%
Births . . . . . . . 245 455 86%
Surgical Operations. 238 1,142 379%
X-ray Examinations . 1,370 3,247 136%
Lab Tests (No. of units) . 3,038 28,353 833%
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PATIENTS
OBSOLETE,
BUILDINGS
STATISTICS ALONE DO NOT TELL THE FULL STORY of the
interminable pressures under which Our Hospital
operates. Also to be considered is the inconvenience
to patients and the difficulties imposed on doctors,
nurses and other staff caused by the Hospital's
obsolete, inferior, wartime -constructed buildings.
Our first line of defence is in danger of crumbling!
Patients —including children —must wait many
weeks for beds ... almost all rooms contain more
beds than they were designed to accommodate ...
use of the Hospital's one operating room must be
reserved far in advance of actual surgery ... lab
and X-ray facilities are hard-pressed to keep pace
with the crushing demand for diagnostic services and
examinations ... an old shed serves as an emergency
ambulance entrance ... the kitchen is too small to
provide meals for the Hospital staff ... many sup-
plies are stored in make -shift areas ... there are no
proper admitting offices or waiting rooms in the
Hospital.
Furthermore, Our Hospital is beyond economical
expansion or major improvement. It was not con-
structed as a permanent building in the first place,
and has no basement or solid foundation.
Yet, despite these many handicaps, Our Hospital
has served us well ... performing to the utmost of
its limited capacity. Standards of treatment and care
are second to none. Patients respond quickly to the
calibre of personal attention provided. In fact, the
average length of patient stay (6.4 days) is one of
the lowest of any general hospital in the Province of
Ontario.
WE NEED A NEW HOSPITAL
But we, of South Ontario County, are in immediate
need of a full-fledged modern general hospital, to
replace the existing "cottage -type" unit. The building
of larger, more adequate facilities can be delayed no
longer, if we are to have the health protection we
desire for ourselves, our families, friends and
neighbours.
And that is why the plan to build a new hospital —
Our New Hospital — is now taking shape. Every-
body's financial support is needed to make it a reality.
THE BUILDING COSTS
SERVICE
The sweeping ground level base of Our New
Hospital will contain all the major supporting
services, including surgery, X-ray, laboratory,
physiotherapy and facilities for emergency and
out -patients treatment. Also on the ground floor
is the complete maternity wing, with labor and
delivery suites, 21 beds for mothers and 24 bas-
sinets for newborns.
The central, three -storey tower houses 70 active
treatment beds for adults and a special 14-bed
pediatric department for children. Kitchen, cafe-
teria, stores, laundry and other basic service areas
are in the basement.
Site of Our New Hospital is on property owned by,
and adjacent to, the present hospital. Careful
consideration was given to building elsewhere in
Pickering Township but no other sites were avail-
able which offered central steam heat service and
all the necessary requirements of accessibility,
sewage, water and electric service and the
strategic location. Cost of installing a heating
plant alone would be at least another $100,000.
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View of front entrance, showing canopied arch leading into admitting
offices. The Hospital is specifically designed for simple and economical
expansion. More beds and faci►ities can be added as required to meet
future demands for increased service. Capital cost of future expansion
will be covered almost entirely by existing government grant structures.
GREATER HEALTH
PROTECTION
THE SHORTAGE OF HOSPITAL FACILITIES to serve South
Ontario County is more critical than many residents
realize. Those who know best — hospital and health
spokesmen, doctors and nurses — agree it is impera-
tive we move right ahead with plans to build a new,
larger, more comprehensive hospital.
The planned new hospital means greater health pro-
tection for all of us ... giving us the security of
knowing that adequate beds and a full range of
modern medical equipment and services are avail-
able in time of need ... offering immediate treatment
and care for all but the most complicated of illnesses
... reducing the need, inconvenience and expense of
travelling many miles to hospitals in other areas.
It is worth noting, too, that most other nearby public
hospitals also are handicapped by insufficient beds.
For example, it is estimated Toronto alone requires
at least 2,000 more hospital beds just to serve its
own resident population adequately. As a result, fewer
and fewer beds are available to patients from outside
areas, such as ours. Provincial health authorities are
urging smaller communities and regional areas to
build more of their own hospital facilities, especially
for general treatment and care.
Over 3,200 healthy (and noisy)
babies delivered since 1954.
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OUR $495,000
BUILDING FUND
VARIOUS LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT have already ack now (-
edged the urgent need for more, and better, hospital
facilities in our area. Thus the planned new Ajax and
Pickering General Hospital "is eligible to receive
certain, specified government grants. These antici-
pated grants amount to $1,853,000. Estimated total
cost of the building program is $2,348,000.
The remaining $495,000 needed to make our hos-
pital a reality is being sought in gifts and contribu-
tions to OUR HOSPITAL BUILDING FUND.
Everybody with a stake in our area is being asked to
participate ... business and industry ... clubs and
organizations ... merchants and suppliers ... doctors,
nurses and other professional people ... and the
35,000 farm, town and village residents of our part
of Ontario County.
HOSPITAL INSURANCE DOES NOT
PAY FOR BUILDING
The Ontario Hospital Services Commission, which
endorses Our Hospital building program, makes no
provision for the capital cost of such building.
Rather, the hospitalization insurance plan provides
us with pre -paid coverage of hospital bills. The aim
is to equate a hospital's annual income with annual
expenditures — allowing it to operate financially on
an even keel.
X-ray examinations are increasingly important.
This is Our Hospital's only piece of equipment.
The $495,000 public appeal — Our Hospital Building
Fund — is being conducted by interested citizens on
a voluntary basis. Please be prepared to welcome the
volunteer canvasser who calls upon you for your
gift to the building fund, for he, too, is working to
help provide you with better health protection.
Decide now upon the amount of your contribution
and please give when asked. Gifts can be pledged
over three years, or whatever interim period suits
your convenience. Everybody's generous support is
required to make the appeal a success.
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There is no proper emergency admitting area.
An old shed serves as an ambulance entrance.
Payments on gifts are deductible for income tax
purposes. Please make all cheques payable to:
OUR HOSPITAL BUILDING FUND
Contributions should be handed to the volunteer
who calls upon you, or mailed to:
Honorary Treasurer
Our Hospital Building Fund
Post Office Box 209
Pickering, Ontario
All gifts are officially acknowledged by the Honorary
Treasurer.
Babies don't always arrive on
schedule, but Our Hospital is
on the alert, day and night.
The present nursery is small,
crowded. The new Hospital will
provide space for 25 bassinets.
Thousands of form and factory
accident victims are attended
each year. Patients often must
line up for treatment. More
space and equipment are
needed urgently.
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STRENGTHEN OUR FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE
SPECIAL GIFT OPPORTUNITIES
Donors to Our Hospital Building Fund often request
that their gifts be used for specific purposes ... to
commemorate a family name ... honor a friend or
relative ... identify a company or group with the
new hospital. Many special gift opportunities of this
kind are available. Gifts so specified will be appro-
priately recorded in Our New Hospital, for all to see.
Following is a partial list of special gift opportunities,
and their estimated costs. Fund volunteers will be
pleased to discuss these, and many others, with
you and your friends.
X-ray Dept., complete .....................
$62,300
Emergency Dept., complete .................
58,000
Laboratory Dept., complete .................
45,600
Nursery, complete (24 bassinets) .............
34,625
Intensive Care Suite, complete (6 beds).......
19,200
Main Entrance Lobby, complete .............
15,400
Major Operating Room, complete............
12,875
5-Bed Room for Children, complete..........
10,400
Obstetrical Delivery Room, complete.........
9,800
Emergency Operating Room, complete........
9,425
10-Bassinet Nursery Room, complete .........
$ 7,450
Emergency Recovery Room (3 beds)..........
6,925
2-Bed Room for Adults, complete............
5,950
Fracture Room, complete ...................
5,850
3-Bed Room for Children, complete..........
5,140
Children's Play Room ......................
5,100
Meditation Chapel ........................
4,400
Multi -purpose Children's Room, complete......
4,200
Labour Room, complete ....................
3,200
Furnishings for Doctors' Library
and Hospital Board Room ................
2,600
Operating Room Table ....................
2,500
Operating Room Light .....................
1,600
Furnishings for Chapel .....................
1,200
Incubator for Newborns ....................
700
Oxygen Tent for Child or Adult .............
605
Furnishings for 5-Crib Infants' Room..........
500
Recovery Room Stretcher ...................
375
Furnishings for Children's Play Room..........
310
Bassinet for Nursery .......................
225
Hi -low Patient Bed ........................
175
Standard Patient Bed .....................
110
OUR HOSPITAL BUILDING FUND
for Ajax and Pickering General Hospital
GENERAL CHAIRMAN
HARRY A. NEWMAN, Q.C.
GENERAL CO-CHAIRMEN HONORARY TREASURER
CLARE BALSDON R. D. THOMPSON KENNETH H. J. CLARKE
DIVISIONS AND COMMITTEES
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
W. A. ANDERSON, Chairman
JAMES CARRIGAN R. D. FLEMING
A. S. MCLEAN K. D. MORLEY
CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS
E. R. HENRY, Co -Chairman
JOHN L. LAY, Co -Chairman
HOSPITAL FAMILY
DR. D. I. GOVE, Chairman
MRS. ANN KING
MRS. F. Pow
ADMINISTRATION
L. H. TAYLOR, Treasurer
PERSONAL GIFTS
ELWIN S. SMYTH, Chairman
GEORGE A. ROBINSON
J. K. SANDERS
AREA CANVASS
BALFOUR SLEIGHTHOLM, Chairman
ELMER ANNIS LEONARD GATES
GORDON D. HEPDTTCH ROBERT HOLOBON
W. G. LAWSON E. C. PETITJEAN
BEN RUDDELL
PUBLIC INFORMATION
T. J. WHEELER, Chairman
A. S. BALDRY ROBERT BYRON
E. C. PHELAN MRS. R. S. RUDDY
MRS. E. WETHERALL
103 KINGSTON ROAD WEST - P.O. BOX 209 • PICKERING, ONTARIO - WHITEHALL 2-0650
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