Dr. Rhee Q & A

We are proud of our talent. Learn more about the Doctors and care right here at CMH with our Q&A featuring Chief of Staff, Dr. Rhee.

Q: Why is this expansion important to you and all of the staff at CMH?

A: As Chief of Staff at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, I can tell you that everyone here is excited about our brand new wing and extensive renovations for so many reasons. First and foremost, we will have the facilities and tools we need to take even better care of you and your loved ones. 

I promise you that my colleagues, who are some of the most driven people I have ever had the privilege to work with, will be even more energized and motivated to provide you and your loved ones with the best care. We will continue to work all day and stay up all night, striving to improve the quality and safety of the patient experience at Cambridge Memorial. 

We remain deeply connected and committed to the community, which is also our community. We are your neighbours and friends. And we want the best possible care for you and your loved ones, just as we want it for our own.

Q: How will the new expansion change the existing departments at CMH?

A: Our bigger, more efficient Emergency Department will mean less time in the waiting room, without patients being treated in the corridors. If patients need to be admitted, we will have more beds to accommodate them, whether it’s medical, surgical, pediatrics or obstetrics. When they arrive upstairs, many patients will have single rooms offering privacy, as well as a reduced risk for infection. 

New operating rooms will allow our surgeons to do more surgeries. Wait times will be reduced for everything from hip replacements and hysterectomies to tumor removals and breast reconstructions. I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to recruit surgeons who will use our new operating rooms to do more advanced laparoscopic surgery. For some operations, our patients will be able to go home the same day!

Plus, our new birthing suite will have its own dedicated operating room. Women who need caesarean sections will only have to be moved next door and not across the hospital. As well, other surgeries won’t have to be bumped to make room for women in labour. 

Q: What do you want the people of Waterloo Region to know about our expansion?

A: Not everyone realizes that the government does not fund new equipment for hospitals. It’s up to each community to raise the money themselves. With the support of this community, recently we have been able to buy equipment such as an infant warmer, several fetal monitors, wheelchairs, blood pressure machines, beds, and a cystoscope, which is a tube with a camera on the end of it that allows us to see inside a patient’s bladder. 

Q: What types of equipment are needed for the new wing?

A: It is a long list of equipment. There are different types of endoscopes and other slender instruments that will allow our surgeons to perform laparoscopic surgery through tiny incisions. This minimally invasive surgery allows people to recover much faster than regular surgery, with less pain and lower risks of infection and other complications. 

We need stretchers and incubators, sterilization trays and a plasma freezer, examination lights and a barcode technology for pharmacy inventory. We also must fill the new wing with furniture, including specialized beds for frail seniors and birthing mothers, sleeper chairs for visitors who want to stay close to their loved ones through the night, stainless steel tables that are easily sterilized, and secure cabinets to hold medicine. 

Q: What other services will our new wing provide to the community?

A: Our new modern facilities will enable Cambridge Memorial to dramatically broaden our services too, so that our sickest people won’t have to be moved out to other hospitals. 

For example, with your help, we will increase the scope of care provided to people with liver disease. Geriatric services will meet the evolving needs of our aging population. Cancer care will also grow and become more sophisticated and our Joint Centre will expand to help people who have problems in their upper and lower limbs, not just hips and knees.

Scroll to Top