The Windsor Public Library is partnering with Windsor Regional Hospital to explore the possibility of creating an innovative and jointly operated library service at the proposed new acute care hospital on County Rd. 42 and the 9th Concession.
The Windsor Public Library System has nine locations and is looking to expand services in South Windsor to meet the needs of that part of the City that does not have convenient access to library services. In addition, the new acute care hospital planning to date already envisions a library within the new facility.
Library CEO Kitty Pope says the new hospital site is ideally located to serve residents in this area, as well as neighbouring county residents, and provides the impetus for collaboration on many unique and mutually beneficial ground-breaking projects.
“The concept is an information hub that brings our customers inside a state-of-the-art, regional healthcare facility and promotes further partnerships and collaboration,” says Pope. “Right now, 40% of the reference questions the library receives are health related. This location gives us a unique opportunity to partner with medical professionals and offer new services to the community.”
The Board of Directors for both Windsor Regional Hospital and the Windsor Public Library, as well as the Program and Services Steering Committee for the Windsor-Essex Hospitals System, all support the continuation of the due diligence process. Further discussion about the specifics including physical space, operating model, etc., will be part of the Stage 2 planning process for the new Windsor-Essex Hospitals System.
“Right now, we are waiting for approval to move to stage two in the planning process,” says David Musyj, President and CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital and Co-Chair of the Steering Committee. “Once that happens, we can take this vision and explore the countless ways this partnership can benefit our patients, staff, visitors, partners in medical research and education and the larger community. It is an innovative partnership and it highlights the unique opportunities the new regional hospital will create.”
Pictured above are David Musyj (Left), President and CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital and Windsor Public Library Board Chair, Dr. Peter Frise and Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens (Right).
The proposed new ‘Windsor Essex Single Site Acute Care Hospital’ (MegaHospital) will have its own ‘Medical Library’ as part of their Hospital Program just as the existing Hotel Dieu and Met Campuses Hospitals now, already have their own existing Medical Libraries. Not to confuse the purpose of a Public Library with that of a Medical Library for Physicians. Presently there is no demographics to support a new branch of the Windsor Public Library at Hwy. 42 and the 9th Concession. Unlikely that there will be in 10 years either, if the proposed new ‘MegaHospital’ continues to be planned on a poorly located and overly expensive distant, unserviced rural site. It appears as ‘progressive’ and wishful thinking to share space with the Windsor Essex Regional Hospital – but the WRH can’t even afford to build their own Parking Garage. That is why the WRH site selection criteria was so deliberately rural site biased for acres of surface parking (that patrons will still be charged to park at). An apathetic and uninformed public, unwittingly footing a more expensive bill (that doesn’t show up in the MegaHospital building costs) for the extra costs (power, water, sewer, expanded roads etc.) the City and Province will have to pay for servicing an ill thought, environmentally damaging rural location site.