The West Haldimand General might be a small-town hospital, but it does big things for its community.
For starters, the West Haldimand General Hospital has been finding answers to its community health problems for nearly 60 years. Opening in 1964, the local hospital provided and continues to provide urgent care and health care services. Presently, it provides these services to more than 25,000 people. Residents who live in Hagersville, Caledonia, Jarvis, Townsend, Cayuga, Fisherville, Selkirk, Nanticoke, the Six Nations of the Grand River, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, all depend on West Haldimand General Hospital (WHGH).
During the last four years alone, nearly 67,000 people required and used the WHGH Emergency Department (ED). The ED, which is open 24 hours, seven days a week, helps patients ranging from injuries, infections, or other serious conditions like heart-attacks, life-threatening injuries, and COVID-19.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the hospital provided care to nearly 1500 patients who required day surgeries in 2019-2020. The hospital also performed over 10,000 x-rays, over 3100 ultrasounds, and roughly 60,000 lab tests last year. More than 3100 people used the hospital day clinics in 2020.
On March 16th, 2020, within 48 hours of the ask, WHGH opened Haldimand County's first COVID-19 Assessment Centre. The hospital hired additional staff to ensure the public would receive the highest care possible. Almost 3600 COVID-19 tests were processed between March 1st and July 31st, 2020. Currently. the assessment center sees on average between 70 to 80 people a day.
Most recently, the hospital's Mammography Unit received accreditation by the Canadian Association of Radiologists for meeting Cancer Care Ontario standards that confirm its delivery of high-quality mammography services to patients. WHGH provides patients with over 1,000 mammograms every year, thanks to the generosity of donor support.
For these very reasons, having a small-town hospital like the West Haldimand General is not just vital to its community, it is essential.
