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Transplant Wellness Centre Unveiled at HSC Winnipeg, Manitoba’s Hospital

April 23, 2021

Improved care for people living with organ failure, thanks to a partnership between the HSC Foundation, the Province of Manitoba, and Transplant Manitoba

Increased transplant operations, reduced waiting times, and safer care of patients who need transplant services are now possible thanks to the Health Sciences Centre (HSC) Transplant Wellness Centre. The Health Sciences Centre Foundation (HSC Foundation), together with the Province of Manitoba and Transplant Manitoba, officially unveiled the new Centre. This brand-new space not only consolidates services previously spread over HSC’s 39-acre campus but will allow for more kidney transplants to be performed.

“By quadrupling the clinical space, the HSC Transplant Wellness Centre is already providing many of our patients with improved care by offering all services under one roof, allowing virtual appointments, and fully outfitting rooms with new equipment,” said Jonathon Lyon, President and CEO of the HSC Foundation. “We are truly grateful for the exceptionally generous donors who have stepped forward to make a difference.”

“By bringing these care services together, the new Centre will expand transplant capacity, reduce patient bottlenecks, and significantly reduce kidney transplant wait times,” said Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson. “The HSC Transplant Wellness Centre is a shining example of how the province, the HSC Foundation and HSC Winnipeg work in partnership to enhance health care and improve the lives of Manitobans.”

The HSC Transplant Wellness Centre cost $4.5 million and was made possible by the Province of Manitoba and two anonymous gifts to the HSC Foundation.

“Kidney transplants started in Manitoba in 1969 and have increased by 78%,” said Dr. Peter Nickerson, Medical Director of HSC’s Transplant Manitoba. “Our program has been growing; however, our physical space did not keep pace. Not only was the clinical space far too small, but Transplant Manitoba staff were scattered across the HSC campus. For those with a suppressed immune system, not having to go all over the hospital is crucial for safer care.

“Thanks to the new environment, we are now able to develop strategies that will increase kidney transplants from 60 per year to 80,” added Dr. Nickerson. “As well, fully equipped rooms mean staff no longer wait for necessary items such as a portable bladder scanner or blood pressure monitors. Liver transplant care is expanding from two clinic rooms to four, and the Living Kidney Donor Program is now offering enhanced service. All of this is thanks to the expansion.”

The multidisciplinary team is now together providing care throughout the journey to transplant or living donation. The Centre has its own new phlebotomy room which allows blood to be drawn right onsite; there is a dedicated Transplant Assessment Clinic; and pre- and post-lung transplant care has a dedicated space with new spirometry and ultrasound equipment.

This space is also used to meet the needs of kidney transplant patients—before and after their surgeries in Winnipeg—and lung and liver transplant patients waiting for and returning from surgeries in other provinces.

“It is an honour to unveil this state-of-the-art space during National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week,” added Lyon. “A successful organ transplant program requires all forms of generosity.”

About the Health Sciences Centre Foundation:

The Health Sciences Centre Foundation rallies individual, corporate, and institutional donors in support of HSC Winnipeg — Manitoba’s hospital. By inspiring Manitobans to donate, the HSC Foundation enhances patient care and accelerates innovation at HSC through the acquisition of state-of-the-art technology, the development of new clinical spaces, and the promotion of groundbreaking research. Through specific, timely, and essential investments, the HSC Foundation helps to deliver tomorrow’s health care, today.

www.hscfoundation.mb.ca

Please click here to read our patient story and here for access to high-resolution photos of the new space.

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