With a major IT overhaul on the horizon, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance is looking to get a number of patient care-related projects completed soon.
The health alliance's Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Sarah Padfield says some of those projects include installing new operating room lights and purchasing a new cell counter to help the hospital turn test results around more quickly.
"All of our clinical information systems need to be replaced in the next three to five years, so by addressing some of those patient care equipment priorities we can focus on replacing our IT system," says Padfield. "We've known for the past couple of years that IT systems will be a major priority and expenditure, so we've been working to address some of those critical patient care issues."
Padfield says she expects the hospital to start working on IT upgrades this fall, with most of the work taking place in 2016-17.