Staff, doctors and volunteers from Hamilton General Hospital at Hamilton Health Sciences joined Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Caplan, Ted McMeekin, Minister of Government and Consumer Services and MPP for Ancaster-DundasFlamborough-Westdale and Sophia Aggelonitis, MPP Hamilton Mountain at a ceremony today to celebrate the official start of construction of the new regional rehabilitation centre.
“The McGuinty government is investing more than $5 billion to improve and expand Ontario's hospital infrastructure,” said Caplan. “As this project moves closer to completion we can take pride in knowing Ontario's health care infrastructure is among the finest and most innovative in North America.”
The government's investment in Hamilton Health Sciences' Hamilton General Hospital site will give local residents better access to a wider range of consolidated rehabilitation services that are very important to everyone in the community.
“Today we're celebrating the great future for health care in Hamilton and across Ontario,” said Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, George Smitherman. “Ontarians deserve the very best health care we can offer and it's therefore exciting for us to move forward with the expansion and redevelopment of Hamilton Health Sciences' General Hospital site to better deliver that care to patients in this community.”
The building team led by EllisDon has begun construction which is expected to be completed in spring 2009. At the peak of construction, there will be more than 130 workers on site daily.
“Today we can be confident that the people of Hamilton will have continued access to great health care for years to come,” said McMeekin, “The redevelopment project will enable Hamilton Health Sciences to deliver better health care for a broad range of health conditions.”
“This is a very exciting day for our community and all the residents of surrounding areas who have come to rely on the General Hospital for excellent care,” said Aggelonitis. “We're one step closer to realizing our vision of a renowned rehabilitation centre.”
The redevelopment project at Hamilton General Hospital will consolidate the current Acquired Brain Injury and Rehabilitation services from 14 different locations to one site to accommodate an additional 44 beds and more efficient ambulatory programs.
A new, three-storey, 100,000 square-foot building will be constructed to accommodate all ambulatory and outreach services, a therapy pool on the ground floor and 91 inpatient beds on the two floors above. The new building will be connected to the main hospital by a bridge to allow staff and patients easy access to both facilities.
"We have anticipated this rehabilitation facility for many years," said Brenda Flaherty, Executive Vice President of Clinical Operations, Hamilton Health Sciences. "This investment in the future of health care will tremendously benefit our patients and will make a difference in the quality of care we provide to our community."
Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care are working with Hamilton Health Sciences to redevelop the Hamilton General 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.
This project is guided by principles outlined in the province's Building a Better Tomorrow framework, which ensures public ownership of core assets such as hospitals, schools, and water and wastewater facilities.
Visit www.infrastructureontario.ca for more information.
Contacts:
Amy Tang
Minster's Office
Public Infrastructure Renewal
416-325-4048
Anne Boody
Infrastructure Ontario
416-325-2939
Jennifer Kramer
Hamilton Health Sciences
905-521-2100, Ext. 76088
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