It’s moving day!
The MUHC shut doors of the Royal Victoria Hospital Sunday, but not before moving 154 patients – some critical – and all the necessary equipment to the new Glen site. The move went off ahead of schedule and without incident.
It was a big move – the largest hospital move in Canadian history, in fact, and that takes a lot of planning. A specialized moving company Health Care Relocations has been laying the groundwork for two years ahead of the procedure to ensure the operation goes off without a hitch.
The move involved the cooperation of Montreal police, as well as the work of 32 ambulances and several Medicars.
The whole operation cost a minimum $10 million.
The move was completed ahead of schedule in part because fewer patients were transferred than the anticipated 220 to 250.
"We were able to give discharges to patients who did not require hospitalization anymore so we were able to reduce our census for the transfer day," said MUHC director of public affairs Richard Fahey.
Check out our complete coverage leading up to the big move here
12:47 p.m.: The move is complete
The MUHC confirms that the last ambulance arrived at the Glen site at 12:27 p.m. 154 patients have been successfully transferred.
UPDATE: The last ambulance is currently arriving at @siteGlen. We have successfully completed the transfer #MUHC2015 pic.twitter.com/nTyeOkvksD
— MUHC (@cusm_muhc) April 26, 2015
12:30 p.m.
The MUHC confirms that the new Glen site is now functioning for adult care, but still recommends visiting another hospital today due to the hustle surrounding patient move.
It also reminds families that they may visit patients from 4 - 9 p.m. this evening.
11:45 a.m.
Urgences sante says apart from a few minor mechanical issues, which were fixed, the move is going well. A total of 32 ambulances are on the move.
11:15 a.m.
Fahey said 97 patients have been move to the new site so far.
Urgences sante also confirms that the move is going as planned, with a patient being tranferred every three to five minutes. Each transfer takes about 30 minutes total.
10:45 a.m.
Eleven cancer patients have been safely moved. Nurses were concerned about nausea, pain and fatigue, but all went according to plan.
"We were concerned that maybe some of their symptoms like nausea or pain might worsen but fortunately it went very smoothly and we had no complaints from our patients," said cancer care mission nursing director Nancy Hutchison.
10 a.m.
The MUHC confirms that the most critically ill patient from the Royal Victoria Hospital has been transferred successfully to the Glen site. A total of five critical patients in the intesive care unit and six patients in the neonatal care unit have been tranferred successfully.
In all, 57 patients have been moved.
8:30 a.m.
The MUHC confirms that so far, 21 patients have been transferred safely to the new site.
New beginnings started early at the Glen, with a healthy 3.6-kilogram baby boy born at 6:55 a.m.
Here’s what you needed to know:
Richard Fahey, director of public affairs at the MUHC, broke down the numbers about the big move.
The plan: To move 200 patients at a rate of one patient every three minutes.
The personnel: There were 600 staff members dedicated to the move.
The timing: The move began at 5 a.m., when the emergency room at the Royal Vic closed and the ER at the Glen site opened. The first patient left the Vic at 7 a.m. and the plan was to have everyone settled in by 3 p.m. The last patient was confirmed to arrive at 12:25 p.m.
The transport: 32 ambulances and 14 Medicars were used to shuttle the patients from hospital to hospital. A doctor first evaluated each patient to authorize their transfer.
The warning: Stay away from the emergency at the Glen if you can Sunday, and also stay away from Pine, Dr. Penfield and Atwater Aves. and St. Antoine and St. Jacques Sts., as that is the route the transport vehicles will be taking between the two hospitals.
The advice: Don't show up to visit unannounced. Once your loved ones are settled in, family members will be called and will be able to visit between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
If you need to visit an ER: Call 811 for advice, consider a clinic – and if an ER visit is necessary, choose one other than the Vic or Glen. Other local hospitals and clinics are all doing their part to support the move.
The next step: The Montreal Children's Hospital is next. It moves into the Glen site on May 24.
The MUHC provided regular updates on its Twitter feed, as well as retweeted testimonials from friends and family of those who have or are receiving care from the hospital group:
