The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance is planning to invest in its two facilities in Chatham and Wallaceburg in order to keep up with the times.
Supervisor Rob Devitt says it's time to renovate and improve services with small projects over the next few years.
Devitt says the emergency department in Chatham tops the list but quickly adds that it won't affect delivery of care.
"There's issues in terms of the size it was built for versus the volumes we're seeing today. Issues with technology but there are issues with both sites in terms of building systems, you know the stuff above ceilings and behind walls," says Devitt.
Plans are also underway to replace the power plant at the Sydenham Campus because the mechanical and electrical equipment is too old and isn't needed for the top two floors that are closed.
Plans must still be approved by the province.
Devitt says evolving technology will play a big part in the Chatham ER refresh.
"It's not what we know today, it's trying to predict correctly what's going to be out there in the future. A decade ago, who was putting wireless capacity into big public institutions? We were all doing public network drops because it was done through cable," Devitt says.
Devitt says future renovations will revitalize both campuses and keep services viable.
"Trying to do that in way where we're trying to size stuff for future development so we can easily add as we go step by step. It'll ensure that future generations have good hospital based care across Chatham-Kent using our two site model," says Devitt.
