St. Joseph’s Health Centre’s Emergency room sees on average 200 patients each day, nearly 100,000 a year. As South West Toronto’s only Emergency Department, it’s one of the busiest emergency rooms in Canada’s biggest city. Its role in the community is vital. However, the patient and visitor entrance to this very busy department faces unique geographical challenges.
The entrance to the ER faces south, with long views toward Lake Ontario and the Gardiner Expressway below, and is buffeted by breathtakingly cold wind on most winter days. The existing automatic door entry sequence and mechanical systems were insufficient to adequately address the environmental issue and resulted in an uncomfortable patient and visitor experience within the waiting area and air intrusion into the administrative and clinical environment.
The re-design includes a new wheelchair accessible twelve foot diameter automatic revolving door and significant improvements to the HVAC system to pressurize the vestibule and mitigate the environmental impact of a challenging site condition.
Existing patient flow protocols were also addressed as part of the project to incorporate current infection control requirements and screening procedures. Phasing requirements associated with the project included a temporary entrance to provide continuous and uninterrupted access to the ER and the existing Triage.
