Resuscitating rural health clinics: building adaptation for rural health hubs in Northern Ontario

Abstract

In rural and northern communities, health care clinics face resource limitations that often result in them adapting existing buildings to suit a medical program. Health clinics that are placed in repurposed commercial buildings are frequently inadequate to their accessibility, professional, or community needs. In 2015, the Ontario Hospital Association developed a Rural Health Hubs Framework for Ontario that provides a guide for increasing access to healthcare in rural areas through detailing the services and integration that should be present in a health centre hub. It does not, however, address their architectural requirements. This thesis examines the intersection of rural health and building adaptations through design principles. A replicable model of rural health hub design is developed that addresses spatial programs to support the purpose of providing an integrated local healthcare centre. The principles are demonstrated in Elliot Lake, Ontario, in the design of an adaptive reuse rural health hub.