Celebrating new construction at Windsor Regional Hospital

Author: Amy Tang, Minister's Office
Energy and Infrastructure

Published: June 24, 2009

WINDSOR, ON, June 24 /CNW/ - Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance and MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh and Bruce Crozier, MPP for Essex joined hospital officials, staff and community members today to celebrate the official start of the Windsor Regional Hospital's redevelopment project.

Bondfield Construction began work earlier this month. At the peak of construction there will be approximately 220 workers on site daily. Bondfield Construction intends to maximize the use of local sub-trades and expects to hire 80 per cent of its workers from the local Windsor community, including: management staff, operating engineers, labourers, carpenters, bricklayers, painters and other skilled trades. This will equate to approximately 500,000 hours of local labour over the lifespan of the Windsor Regional Hospital redevelopment project.

Over the lifespan of the project, Bondfield Construction expects to spend tens of millions on local labour and local materials and supplies required for the construction project.

The contract commits Bondfield Construction to build and finance the Windsor Regional Hospital redevelopment project for $91.6 million, which will be paid by the hospital when construction is completed in spring 2012. The contract guarantees a fixed price and a fixed delivery date for the redevelopment of the hospital.

The Windsor Regional Hospital project will increase the hospital's capacity to meet the needs of a growing population, reduce patient wait times and enhance access to services for rehabilitation and specialized mental health programs.

Highlights of the Windsor Regional Hospital capital redevelopment project include:

• new construction to provide a specialized mental health hospital that will be more than 75,000 square feet on the Western Campus
• increase in overall capacity, making room for up to 65 specialized mental health beds and up to 60 rehabilitation beds
• renovations to more than 35,000 square feet of space in the Tower Building, which houses in-patient rehabilitation services

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Windsor Regional Hospital to redevelop the facility, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable. Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget.

Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information.

Quotes

George Smitherman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure
"Our government has recognized and acted on the need for long term infrastructure investments. Today's groundbreaking comes at a time when we need it most; for the economic stimulus effect this project will provide and for the enhanced healthcare facilities and services that will further strengthen Windsor and surrounding communities."

David Caplan, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
"I'm excited to see the renewal of another Ontario hospital as we work community by community to lower wait times and improve access to quality care. Once complete, area residents will have even better access to the care they need, when they need it, close to home."

David Musyj, President and CEO, Windsor Regional Hospital
"Today is one of the most exciting day in Windsor Regional Hospital's history. We are eager for our partners, Bondfield Construction, to break ground and begin the important job of making our vision of more jobs and healthcare beds a reality."

Sandra Pupatello, Minister of International Trade and Investment and MPP for Windsor West
"This is a momentous day for our hospital and our community. With the start of construction we will begin to see our collective vision for improved health care taking shape."

Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance and MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh
"Today's announcement marks an important stride toward improving our local economy through the creation of much-needed construction jobs and the purchase of local supplies and materials."

Bruce Crozier, MPP for Essex
"The expansion and redevelopment of the Windsor Regional Hospital ensures that residents in the community and surrounding regions will continue to have access to high-quality health care for generations to come."

Background: WINDSOR REGIONAL HOSPITAL

Windsor Regional Hospital is a large multi-site health service organization serving a population of 400,000 people in Windsor and Essex County. Established in 1994 following a merger of Windsor Western Hospital Centre Inc. and Metropolitan General Hospital, Windsor Regional Hospital has more than 174 years of combined history in health care services. Providing acute and continuing care services with a total of 716 beds on various sites, Windsor Regional Hospital is one of the largest non-teaching hospitals in the Province of Ontario.

Windsor Regional Hospital operates from the Metropolitan Campus and the Western Campus. The Metropolitan Campus, home to acute care services (birthing, paediatrics, critical care, surgery, general medicine and emergency), recently expanded and renovated its facilities. Services provided at the Western Campus include specialized rehabilitation (in-patient and out-patient), complex continuing care, long term care, adult mental health (in-patient and out-patient), children's mental health and a variety of outpatient programs as well as physicians' private practices.

Windsor Regional Hospital's Western Campus is about to embark on a major capital redevelopment to reduce patient wait times and enhance access to services for rehabilitation and longer-term mental health programs.

Highlights of the Windsor Regional Hospital capital redevelopment project include:

• new construction to provide a longer-term mental health building on the Western Campus that will be more than 75,000-square-feet
• increase in overall capacity making room for up to 65 longer-term mental health beds and up to 60 rehabilitation beds
• renovations of existing buildings, including exterior repairs, upgrades to the elevator that services the building and other existing infrastructure
• renovations to over 35,000 square feet of space in the Tower Building, which houses in-patient rehabilitation services

Article courtesy of,
Amy Tang
Minister's Office
Energy and Infrastructure
(416) 327-6747; Mandy Downes
Infrastructure Ontario
(416) 327-5246; Ron Foster
Windsor Regional Hospital
(519) 254-5577 ext. 52003