Photo provided.
By Cecilia Nasmith
Northumberland Hills Hospital and the NHH Foundation are pleased to announce that construction of the hospital's new operating room is complete – and that this expanded service is now fully operational.
This was one of the main capital projects supported by the Foundation's ambitious Exceptional Community, Exceptional Care campaign, with construction having begun in March of 2025.
A key milestone early in construction was the installation of the air handling unit on the roof that allows the new OR to function as a negative-pressure space. This feature will enable NHH to expand respirology services and enhance the Medical-Surgical team's ability to perform such procedures as bronchoscopies.
“This expansion will help the hospital attract and retain talented medical professionals who are looking to work with the latest and best technology, increase our local and regional surgical capacity, and create an opportunity for us to explore bringing new surgical services to this area,” Chief of Staff Dr. Paul Ketov predicted.
“The completion of construction of the new OR is part of NHH's commitment to enhancing our core services, while laying the groundwork for the additional capacity that our community will need in future,” NHH President and Chief Executive Officer Susan Walsh said in the announcement.
Walsh extended thanks to the NHH Medical-Surgical team for their hard work throughout the project, as well as their creativity in minimizing impacts on patient care.
“Thank you to our Procurement, Project Management, Facilities and Environmental Services teams, whose co-ordination and expertise ensured the successful completion of this complex construction project conducted within the context of a working hospital,” she added.
“I would also like to recognize the exceptional work of our NHH Foundation, who focused awareness and support to this project, and to our generous community, whose support of this very large capital renewal project is helping to ensure NHH is able to meet the rising needs of a growing community.”
“We are immensely grateful to Bill Humphries and the Trustees of the Radlett Foundation for playing a leadership role in funding the new OR,” Foundation Chief Executive Officer Rhonda Cunningham said.
“This is a full-circle moment when the hospital's vision, powered by the generosity of our community, makes an extraordinary difference in the level of care provided to West Northumberland patients.”
