In the third and final segment of Saving SickKids: Rebuilding the House of Hope, NEWSTALK1010's Ashley Legassic explores the challenges an old hospital can pose for staff and patients. Some of these issues became even more apparent and crucial during the pandemic.
On Thursday, NEWSTALK1010 will be holding its annual Gift of Giving radiothon in support of SickKids from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on The Rush. The event has never been as important as it is this year.
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For someone who has been fortunate enough to have never stepped foot inside SickKids Hospital, it can be hard to understand all of the challenges an old building can bring and the building is really, really old — built in 1951.
"This is well before modern technology when it comes to things like internet, things where medical technology and equipment have really, really evolved."
Dr. Lennox Huang is the vice president and chief medical officer of health for SickKids...
He says the prospect of a new hospital coming in 10 years is exciting, but a lot of work needs to be done to make Project Horizon a reality. Some issues with the hospital have been amplified during the pandemic.
"We started having this challenge of having people both close and far at the same time," Huang said. "We knew from just taking care of children on a regular basis that having family by their bedside really important."
But with the way the building is laid out, it makes physical distancing tough.
Emergency physician Dr. Natasha Collia says even the simplest things like wifi connection can’t be completely relied upon in the building.
"The ER is old, and the ER is almost what I would call like a basement," Collia said. "We're not in a basement, but we also don't have really many windows to look outside so technically we are behind concrete walls, and we're expected to now use top of the line technology that's going to start faultering because we don't have wi-fi connection that's proper."
The sky-high building on University Avenue hasn’t kept up with the times. Raptor Fred VanVleet experienced it first hand last year.
"Just - it's unimaginable what these people go through," VanVleet said during a stay at SickKids. "Doctors tripping over each other, running out of room, machines all tangled up."
Angela Murphy is the campaign vice president for SickKids Foundation. She says now more than ever, monthly donors are needed.
"The hospital won't be able to continue to provide the high level of care because the staff continue to do everything they can — excellent staff, excellent research, the best care you could get — but the facilities are failing us right now," Murphy said.
As she puts it — is there really a more worthwhile cause you could think of?
"We need to rebuild the hospital in order to ensure the best care for the next generation."