Navigating Change: The Operational Readiness and Transition Planning Journey

2-2-2024

When it comes to planning a new acute care hospital for patients in Windsor-Essex, designing and constructing a state-of-the-art facility is just the tip of the iceberg, according to Stantec's Senior Principal Donna Rothwell.

Rothwell is part of a multidisciplinary team recently selected through a competitive procurement process to support Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) with Operational Readiness and Transition Planning for the New Windsor/Essex Acute Care Hospital.

In this role, they will support the development and execution of a strategy to ensure a seamless move into the new hospital, with uninterrupted patient services. This includes preparing staff, professional staff, volunteers, and students to work confidently in the new facility.

Building on the iceberg analogy, Rothwell compares the new hospital facility people will see to a beautiful iceberg floating above the water. "But what you won't see is everything happening below the waterline, which is how we get our teams and the day-to-day operations ready for success in this beautiful new hospital," she says.

 

This image offers a look at all the work needed to position teams and operations success in the new building.

Click the image to enlarge

 

It's a process very familiar to Rothwell, who, as Chief Nursing Officer for the Niagara Health System, led the Operational Readiness Planning team and patient moves to the new St. Catharines Hospital in 2013.

In her role at Stantec, Rothwell has worked on several of the latest and largest new hospital transitions in Ontario, and the core team supporting the project has worked on a combined total of 30+ comparable projects.

"We understand what you are going through because we've all lived this experience," she says, "We know the good and the bad, and we bring a whole repertoire of lessons learned to the project."

The goal of this work is a safe and predictable transition to the new hospital by ensuring the hospital has:

• the right people;
• with the right training and policies;
• in the right numbers;
• at the right place;
• with the right equipment and technology; and
• with the right intentions.

Regina Fraiya, Senior Consultant and Subject Matter Expert on the project, says transitioning from two separate campuses into a single mega hospital is a complex process that will require a massive change management strategy.

Staff members who have worked comfortably in the same jobs, for decades in some cases, will now have to deal with new technology and systems, new room layouts, new floor plans, and a new workflow, while also learning where to park, take their breaks, hang their coats, and swipe in.

"As an organization is important to do everything possible to support this significant transition."

Fraiya says even though the eventual move is still years away, it's important to start this work now as models of care, staffing requirements, policies, and procedures are going to change as a result of the move.

"We need to start getting people to think about what that will look like and where you want to be when you open this beautiful new building, to ensure you are designing a facility that is consistent with the goals of Windsor Regional Hospital," says Fraiya.

The Stantec team will work closely with User Groups throughout the development and execution of the strategy. They will be onsite later this month to kick off the process, which includes a preparedness assessment of the current state and mapping out steps needed to achieve a desired future state in the new facility.

"We know it will continue to evolve over the course of the project, but we need to have a basic level of understanding of what we want to achieve," says Fraiya.

In later planning stages, the team will work with WRH on a training strategy for Users, a go-live support strategy, day-in-the-life simulations to test staff workflows and the eventual patient move. They will continue to support the project in the weeks and months after the new hospital opens to address unanticipated issues that arise during the transition phase.

"Our goal is to have the least interruption to patient care as possible, so that's why this is mission-critical," says Rothwell.

 

Donna Rothwell, RN, BScN, MN, Senior Project Lead Helen Margiotta, RN BScN, MN, PMP, Senior Consultant Regina Fraiya, MSN, RN, CPNP, Sr Consultant & Move Planning Subject Matter Expert Dominika Burrows, Project Coordinator