November 28, 2007

Niagara region health care complex comes one step closer to construction

NIAGARA, ON

Construction of the Niagara Health System’s (NHS) new health care complex is one step closer now that workers have begun to prepare the St. Catharines site.

“This marks an important milestone for the Niagara region,” said Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal David Caplan.

“This new hospital is part of the government’s five-year $30-billion plus infrastructure investment representing the biggest investment in health care infrastructure in more than a generation.”

“This is a clear sign of our government’s commitment to upgrade and modernize health care,” said George Smitherman, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

“Once built, this new hospital will mean Niagara-area residents will have better access to important emergency services.”

Work on the site includes:

•Planting of shrubs and trees around the perimeter of the Francis Creek Drainage Canal to separate the hospital from the railroad tracks, giving the trees a few years to mature and develop in anticipation of the building;

•Creation of an enhanced fish habitat and spawning ground in the Francis Creek Drainage Canal.

•Promotional fencing for the It’s Our Time fundraising campaign to be located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and First Street.

Additional preparatory work will include development of tender documents for the First Street road improvements.

This preparation work will satisfy the requirements of the City of St. Catharines and the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority in advance of the development of the site.

The preparation work is being done by Merit Contractors Niagara, the successful bidder.

Once completed, the health care facility will house new regional services, including cardiac specialty care, radiation treatment for cancer patients and 53 new longer-term mental health beds. The addition of these regional services will ensure closer-to-home access to advanced-level care for the more than 434,000 residents across the Niagara region.

The health-care complex will also house a 375-bed community hospital to serve St. Catharines, Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake and surrounding communities. The new 850,000 square-foot health-care complex will be built on a 32-acre section of the 40-acre site in St. Catharines and replace two aging, existing community hospitals.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care will work with the Niagara Health System to build the new hospital, 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.

DCN News Services

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