Breast cancer surgery, joint replacements celebrated in CGMH annual report

The local hospital board has given out kudos to hospital staff and programs for its annual awards of excellence, which also comes with the release of the hospital's annual report. 

Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH) reported $83.8 million in revenues for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. Of that, 77 per cent came from the Ministry of Health, and another 14 per cent from patient services. 

CGMH employs 674 people plus 234 physicians, midwives and dentists and 110 volunteers. In the 2022/23 fiscal year, the hospital reported 5,046 admissions to its 84 beds for a total of 29,585 patient days.

There were 63,171 imaging tests completed at the hospital, along with 2,791 cardio-pulminary procedures. 

Hospital board chair Barry Goodwin's note in the annual report highlighted the challenge of rapid growth across the region over the last decade, bringing complex healthcare needs to the hospital, which is housed in an aging and undersized building. The hospital, like most in Ontario, is also facing ongoing shortages in staff. 

Goodwin commended hospital staff for continuing to be committed to patient care, and praised new hospital CEO Mike Lacroix, who took the office in June 2022 for strong leadership. 

"A new hospital for the South Georgian Bay region is a key priority for the board," stated Goodwin in the annual report. "A modern and larger hospital will allow our rapidly growing region to receive high-quality care closer to home. ... while it will take time, we are confident we are on the right path." 

Lacroix also included an address in the annual report, focusing on the work being done to get a new hospital. This year, CGMH reached the third stage of its work toward a new hospital, which included submitting a functional program to the Ministry of Health.

The functional program submission from CGMH to the ministry called for 100 per cent private rooms, expanded medical and surgery bed capacity, inpatient rehabilitation beds, inpatient mental health beds, a simulation training centre for interprofessional learning, and all of it built on the 30-acre piece of land off Poplar Sideroad that has been donated for the purpose. 

After the hospital receives approval from the ministry to move on to the next step, work will continue on the detailed planning submission, a three-phase process that will inform the construction bid process. Based on timelines from Infrastructure Ontario, construction on a new Collingwood hospital could begin in the next four-to-five years. 

"The submission was the culmination of 18 months of collaborative effort and we are extremely proud of the work that our CGMH team has put into this submission, including the collaborative approach we have taken to ensure that the voices of the patient, provider and our health care partners were included," stated Lacroix in the annual report. 

In December, 2022, the hospital was given the go-ahead to build and install a new MRI lab that will receive operational funding from the province. The hospital's foundation is responsible for raising the money needed to purchase the machine and cover the costs of building the lab. Lacroix said in the report that the new service should be up and running in the next 12 months. 

Chief of Staff Dr. Michael Lisi, who has held the role for nine years, also used the annual report to thank the CGMH team for working through challenges and remaining dedicated to patient care and the hospital. 

He highlighted the work of the Rural Ontario Medical Program in fostering physician trainee hours in rural settings. Lisi also gave shout-outs for a new six-week wellness course for professional staff, the professional leadership among the hospital physicians, the giving circle, strong family practice community and collaboration, and South Georgian Bay Ontario Health Team's work to improve digital patient care. 

Click here to read the full annual report from the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital. 

The board of directors' annual awards of excellence were also recently announced to honour the performance and achievements of employees and physicians within CGMH. 

“On behalf of the Board of Directors we are so appreciative of the efforts from the entire CGMH Team this past year. Congratulations to those who were recognized for their outstanding achievements that have helped CGMH move towards its vision of providing Outstanding Care – For Life,” said Goodwin in a recent news release. 

The awards for excellence included recognition for the team that led the hospital's most recent redeveloment submission to the Ministry of Health. 

Receiving the award of excellence for partnerships was the CGMH@Home team, which is a new program that partners with BAyshore HealthCare to deliver support for patients who are transitioning into the community after a hospital stay. The @Home care team includes a coordinator, nurses, personal support workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech-language pathologists, and social workers. The idea is to reduce the length of stay for a hospital patient that has transitioned into alternative level of care and no longer needs acute care in a hospital setting. 

The CGMH Same Day Surgery Team received the award of excellence in the patient experience category. The program is supported by the Surgical Innovation Fund, sponsored by Ontario Health, and run by the peri-operative team at CGMH. The concept is same-day discharge for patients getting joint replacement surgery through the use of less-invasive surgeries. Through the program, most patients can avoid hospitalization and may recuperate at home. 

In 2022, about 48 per cent of joint replacement surgery patients were discharged from the hospital on the same day of their surgery. 

Receiving the award of excellence for innovation is the team that brought in MOLLI, a breast cancer localization system, spearheaded by Dr. Michael Lisi and retired director Marianne Beardsall. After successful trials, the CGMH team brought in the MOLLI Wand, which is a magnetic marker (as small as a sesame seed implanted by a radiologist and used to locate a breast cancer tumour. A surgeon then uses the MOLLI Wand to detect the marker and remove the lesion more effectively. A statement by CGMH notes the system gives surgeons the best chance to locate and remove cancer areas.