HEALTHCARE
AN ONGOING EFFORT COMES TO FRUITION Nearly 10 years ago , Interior Health began its redevelopment project for Kelowna General Hospital . “ The focus of that was renewal of facilities , but also to transform it into a teaching hospital with cardiac surgery ,” says Norma Malanowich , Chief Project Officer & Corporate Director of Capital Planning for Interior Health . “ The finishing of the Interior Heart and Surgical Centre building provides a permanent home for cardiac surgery and the operating rooms that were part of that transformation .”
The four-story centre features pre- and post-operative care on its main floor , operating suites plus a cardiac surgery intensive care unit and post-anesthesia recovery room on the second floor , and its medical device reprocessing department on the third floor .
“ All of the technology is stateof-the-art ,” says Malanowich . Examples of this technology include integrated monitoring and surgical systems and a hybrid OR equipped with both diagnostic
Norma Malanowich
imaging equipment and surgical equipment — one of very few in the country , this hybrid setup allows surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgery and drastically reduce recovery time for patients .
With the opening of this new facility , KGH is able to provide interventional cardiology as well as cardiac surgery services to all of interior British Columbia . By expanding these services to a wider geographical area , the hospital is able to provide comprehensive cardiac care to patients throughout
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