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Work to enlarge and modernize Magog’s Centre de santé et de services sociaux de Memphrémagog (CSSSM) is well underway and set for completion in early 2010. PHOTO: SARAH ROGERS
View of the hospital and its adjacent wings under construction, which will house new long-term care beds at the Magog health centre.
Magog’s hospital, formerly called La Providence, has undergone expansion work since the fall of 2007 to upgrade the facility in response to the population growth in the region, particularly that of new retirees and seniors.
Once completed, the hospital will be equipped with new office space, new long-term care beds, new surgical and x-ray technology among other additions.
“We’ve seen a lot of changes over the past year,” said the centre’s director, Monique Corbeil. “The work is progressing very well and within the foreseen budget.”
The $40 million expansion project, which was originally scheduled to be finished this spring, is now on track to completion in the beginning of 2010, Corbeil said.
The Memphrémagog health centre unveiled its new, state-of-the-art surgical unit in January, which will allow doctors to perform 300 more surgeries a year, in addition to the typical 1,000 procedures performed annually in Magog.
A new fluoroscopy centre is also in operation, now equipped with digital imaging to perform “live” x-rays.
By the end of the summer, Corbeil expects that the centre’s three new wings will be ready, opening up space for 100 new long-term care beds.
The health centre’s chapel remains open to the hospital’s clientel and their families, Corbeil said.
In March 2008, a group of Magog and area residents were fighting to keep chapel space at the centre open when they learned of plans to renovate a part of the chapel into office and meeting space.
The hospital expansion means 200 new professionals will soon be moving in and will require offices as well as training and consultation space. But the heart of the chapel will be maintained, Corbeil said, and removable walls will allow the space to open up for Sunday mass if the need arises.
The hospital’s upgrades are targeted to an aging population in the region, Corbeil said, and for good reason.
“We welcome a lot of young retirees to our region and that alone is aging our population faster than in other regions,” she said. “We’ve had to adjust the focus of our services to accommodate the needs of that demographic.”
The $40 million that is being used to modernize the facility comes from the provincial health ministry, the regional health agency as well as the hospital’s Foundation de l’hopital de Memphrémagog.By Sarah Rogers
Magog 2009-06-26 |
Montreal Canadiens
