$4.5M for K-W hospitals to repair and upgrade facilities

Kitchener's Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital are getting$3,425,493 and$1,184,460 this year, respectively, for repairs and upgrades as part of the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund.The hospitals are two of 131 in Ontarioreceiving $175 million in total from the province.

MarkKarjaluoto, director of communications at Grand River Hospital told CBC News that some money will be used to upgrade patient care units in the Freeport campus.

"Specifically, many patients right now are being able to get care in brighter units that are refreshed, that have more up-to-date flooring, that are just a more comforting, welcoming environment," Karjaluoto said.

MPP of Kitchener Centre Daiene Vernile told CBC News that the funding will help hospitals provide patients with high-quality care in a safe and healthy environment.

"We often hear about investments in hospital programs and new equipment, and those are important, but those investments are little help if the roof is leaking, or if the windows are bleeding heat, or if the air conditioner doesn't work," she said.

Germ reduction

St. Mary's General Hospital will be replacingsurfaces such as floors and wall coatings in areas that get a lot of traffic, like emergency wards and diagnostic imaging.

"Technology that will reduce theimpact of spreading germs, and reduce the risk of infections to patients and staff and families that come to the organization, that's really where we're going to be utilizing this funding," the hospital's vice president Marco Terlevicsaid.

He said the upgrades involve using materials that can reduce the spread of germs, such as copper coatings.

Last week the Cambridge Memorial Hospital announced it will receive$978,068 to installfirefightingsprinklers and service its boiler system.