By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.

January 20, 2014

Progress: actual, real, certifiable progress – the Joseph Brant Hospital nudged forward a couple of inches last week when the province and the hospital announced a short list of three groups that are going to bid on the hospital redevelopment and expansion.

A few weeks ago everyone with a coat slipped out of the hospital to the western side of the site to sign a beam that was hoisted into place for the Family Medical Clinic and the three storey parking garage that is currently under construction.

Don’t confuse the hospital redevelopment and expansion with the Family Clinic which is an offshoot of the McMaster operation that has the Region’s name attached to it.

The hospital itself is a bigger and a much-anticipated development. It is a sort of joint venture with the hospital corporation and the provinces Infrastructure Ontario working together to get the hospital into the 21st century.

The three short listed teams will design, build and finance the Hospital’s Redevelopment and Expansion Project. The new hospital construction is expected to start in early 2015 and the hospital is expected to be open in winter 2018/19.

innovaCARE Partners

Kasian Architecture Ontario Inc.

Graham Walsh Joint Venture

Scotiabank

Integrated Team Solutions

Parkin Architects Limited

EllisDon Corporation

Fengate Capital Management Ltd.

PCL Partnerships

HDR Architecture Associates, Inc.

PCL Canada Inc.

TD Securities Inc.

The project includes the construction of a new seven-storey patient-care tower, modern Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit and significant renovations to the existing space. This will provide the growing community with improved access to a larger, more modern hospital and a hospital-wide average of 70 per cent single patient rooms to meet the highest standards for infection prevention and control and quality of care.

The hospital recently announced a settlement with the families that lost members to the c-difficile outbreak that resulted in more than 90 deaths at the hospital – the highest number of death from the virus anywhere in the country.

Highlights of the project include: additional acute inpatient beds, nine modern operating rooms, expanded diagnostic services, a modern post-anaesthetic care unit, expanded ambulatory care programs, an expanded Cancer Clinic, renovated Special Care Nursery, a new main entrance and expanded medical, surgical and outpatient services

While the province is all over this project – we need their money, the facility, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable.

Infrastructure Ontario is a crown agency of the Province of Ontario that delivers large, complex infrastructure renewal projects. They have the expertise that in the recent past has been applied to 83 major projects valued at approximately $38 billion.

Burlington citizens were told by the province in 2011 that they had to come up with $120 million to pay for the redevelopment and expansion. Citizens are providing $60 million by way of a levy on their tax bills and the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation is raisin the other $60 million by way of public fund raising. To date the Foundation has raised in excess of $16 million.

Background links:

How the hospital Foundation got to $16 million.

Getting that first cheque from the province was not easy.