(Right image: Back row, (L-R): Dr. Paul (Pavel) Ketov, Chief of Staff, Dr. Andrew Stratford, Chief of Surgery, Todd Dafoe, Manager, PMO, and James Huntley, Interim Deputy Chief Financial Officer.
2. Middle row: Kate Zimmerman, VP Integrated Care, CNE, Emily Hartmann, Patient Care Manager Ambulatory and Perioperative.
Front row: Kelli Giroux, Team Leader, Pam Robinson, Clinical Services Director and Susan Walsh, President and CEO.)
Donor funded through the ‘Exceptional Community, Exceptional Care’ campaign
Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) and NHH Foundation are very pleased to share that construction of the new operating room (OR) is now complete and this expanded OR service is fully operational.
Construction began in March of 2025 and was one of the main capital projects supported by the NHH Foundation’s ‘Exceptional Community, Exceptional Care’ campaign.
A key milestone in the early phases of construction was the installation of the air handling unit on the roof of the hospital that allows the new OR to function as a negative pressure space. This controlled space will enable NHH to expand Respirology services and enhance the Medical/Surgical team’s ability to perform procedures such as bronchoscopies.
“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,” says NHH President and CEO Susan Walsh.
“I would like to extend my thanks to NHH’s Medical/Surgical Team for their hard work throughout this important project and for their creativity in minimizing the disruption to patient care during the renovation. Thank you to our Procurement, Project Management, Facilities and Environmental Services teams, whose coordination and expertise ensured the successful completion of this complex construction project conducted within the context of a working hospital. 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 leading role in funding the new OR,” shares Rhonda Cunningham, NHH Foundation CEO. “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.”
“The future of our surgical program is an exciting one,” said Dr. Paul Ketov, Chief of Staff, NHH. “The successful addition of this operating room outfitted with new and advanced technology, is a major step forward for NHH. 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.”
Benefits of NHH’s new operating room include, but are not limited to:
• An increase in local and regional surgical capacity and, by extension, a reduction in wait times for surgical procedures.
• New negative pressure space that provides an opportunity for the expansion of Respirology services, such as bronchoscopies and the ability to use negative pressure to treat infectious disease patients during outbreaks.
• Introduction of lithotripsy procedures to break down stones in the kidney, or ureters.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
