Critical care at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance received a boost.
As of early August, CKHA added two temporary intensive care beds to its unit, bringing the total to 12 from ten.
Officials said renovations are underway to make the changes permanent.
Caen Suni, vice-president of clinical programs and operations, said administration received word in the spring of additional provincial funding to fuel the expansion.
“An expanded unit allows for the support of more critical patients closer to home,” he said. “Sometimes in the past, patients had to be sent to London or Windsor or even Sarnia.”
The CKHA also operates a 12-bed progressive care unit.
The expansion of the ICU comes after more than a year of working with the province, Suni said.
He added that by increasing the ICU by 20 per cent, it should attract more physicians as well.
“Size matters. When we have a larger service, we’re able to look at the care models,” he said. “But these are complex changes. It takes a couple of years. You have to have longer-term vision.”
